Susquehanna Raises Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Price Target to $42.00

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its price target raised by Susquehanna from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a buy rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Melius lowered shares of Alaska Air Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $57.85.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALK opened at $45.53 on Friday. Alaska Air Group has a 52 week low of $30.75 and a 52 week high of $57.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.17. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.62) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $249,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at $999,201.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ARGA Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the first quarter worth about $9,654,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 153,403 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,595,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 97.3% in the first quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Executive Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 200.0% in the first quarter. Executive Wealth Group LLC now owns 41,913 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 27,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 17.1% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.