Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Given New $55.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Bank of America from $50.00 to $55.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 31.11% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wolfe Research raised Alaska Air Group from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 17th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 5.0 %

Shares of ALK traded up $2.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,515,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,219,452. Alaska Air Group has a 52 week low of $30.75 and a 52 week high of $46.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.76.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.19. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.14%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post 4.17 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Alaska Air Group in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 2nd quarter worth $69,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

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.