Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Given New $82.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its target price raised by research analysts at UBS Group from $81.00 to $82.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 27.27% from the stock’s previous close.

ALK has been the subject of several other research reports. Melius raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.14.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of ALK opened at $64.43 on Tuesday. Alaska Air Group has a one year low of $32.62 and a one year high of $67.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.54.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

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 value of $51,112.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,072.54. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 2,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.38, for a total value of $149,683.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,245,109.20. This trade represents a 10.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,473 shares of company stock worth $2,198,342 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALK. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $501,000. TD Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,454,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $281,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,590,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,239,000 after buying an additional 122,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the second quarter valued at $1,833,000. 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.