Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Upgraded at Susquehanna

Susquehanna upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) from a neutral rating to a positive rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Susquehanna currently has $95.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.14.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

ALK stock opened at $66.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Alaska Air Group has a 1 year low of $32.62 and a 1 year high of $67.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $58.10 and a 200 day moving average of $46.18. The company has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.54.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 2.99%. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In other news, VP Emily Halverson sold 1,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $85,600.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,150 shares in the company, valued at $460,531.50. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 13,880 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total value of $888,458.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,321,038.38. The trade was a 40.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALK. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,462 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,066,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 633,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,312,000 after buying an additional 24,796 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,061,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $93,229,000 after acquiring an additional 78,186 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico.