Susquehanna Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Stock Price

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its price target lowered by Susquehanna from $95.00 to $55.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a positive rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ALK. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group lowered shares of Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $75.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Alaska Air Group from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.15.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 23.2 %

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock opened at $50.51 on Monday. Alaska Air Group has a 1-year low of $32.62 and a 1-year high of $78.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.86.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share (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%. Analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total transaction of $503,448.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,595,808.40. The trade was a 16.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total transaction of $134,175.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,487,369.52. The trade was a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 154,725 shares of company stock valued at $11,217,263. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 328.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,649,388 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $301,048,000 after buying an additional 3,564,749 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,459,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 134.0% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,134,221 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $138,191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222,277 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 4,615.3% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 943,064 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $61,063,000 after purchasing an additional 923,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candlestick Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter worth $51,306,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.