Barclays Initiates Coverage on Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK)

Investment analysts at Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $55.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target points to a potential upside of 22.39% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on ALK. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup decreased 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 report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Susquehanna increased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.80.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of ALK opened at $44.94 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.60. Alaska Air Group has a twelve month low of $30.75 and a twelve month high of $46.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.85 and a 200 day moving average of $40.52.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 952.4% in the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,105 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $69,000. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $81,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. 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.