Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Receives $74.86 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.86.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Melius upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price target on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.89, for a total transaction of $51,112.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,072.54. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 91,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.14, for a total transaction of $6,526,739.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,638 shares in the company, valued at $1,468,187.32. This represents a 81.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,548 shares of company stock valued at $9,513,807 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,381 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 12,773 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 2,186 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter worth about $3,159,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,944,000. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 188.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 65,070 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,313,000 after acquiring an additional 42,501 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALK opened at $75.96 on Monday. Alaska Air Group has a 52 week low of $32.62 and a 52 week high of $76.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.72. The company has a market cap of $9.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 3.37%. Research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

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.