Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, The Goldman Sachs Group Analyst Says

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its target price increased by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $70.00 to $79.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 18.51% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Alaska Air Group from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.79.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ALK opened at $66.66 on Tuesday. Alaska Air Group has a twelve month low of $32.62 and a twelve month high of $69.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.81.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In related news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total transaction of $234,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,338,961. The trade was a 14.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total value of $317,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,739,128.72. The trade was a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,473 shares of company stock worth $2,198,342. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 32.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,037,000 after purchasing an additional 265,343 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 54.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 57,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 20,347 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 358.9% during the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 27,428 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 21,451 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter valued at $772,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 156.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 83,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,788,000 after purchasing an additional 51,096 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

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.