Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.14.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ALK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Melius Research raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Susquehanna raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock opened at $66.42 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Alaska Air Group has a 1-year low of $32.62 and a 1-year high of $69.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, 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 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 business 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 firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. Alaska Air Group’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 13,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total value of $888,458.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,321,038.38. The trade was a 40.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total transaction of $317,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,362 shares in the company, valued at $1,739,128.72. This represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,473 shares of company stock worth $2,198,342. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter worth about $772,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,753 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,279,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,462 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,066,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 633,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,312,000 after buying an additional 24,796 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

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.