Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Upgraded to Hold by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on ALK. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a buy rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the stock from $44.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $57.85.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

NYSE:ALK opened at $45.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.63. Alaska Air Group has a one year low of $30.75 and a one year high of $57.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.17. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.62) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $249,340.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,201.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 416.4% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 568 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 215.8% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 761 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 255.5% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 775 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 456.1% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 912 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 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.