UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Stock Price

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its price objective raised by UBS Group from $81.00 to $82.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.14.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of ALK stock opened at $65.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Alaska Air Group has a one year low of $32.62 and a one year high of $67.73. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $57.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.90. The company has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.54.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 2.99%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.89, for a total transaction of $51,112.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,072.54. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were 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 $1,739,128.72. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 2,087.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 762,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,490,000 after buying an additional 728,019 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,390,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 45.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,422,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,300,000 after acquiring an additional 442,331 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $262,789,000 after acquiring an additional 357,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings 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 period. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.