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

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

ALK has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Alaska Air Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a buy rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $51.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Melius cut shares of Alaska Air Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $57.85.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of ALK opened at $45.02 on Friday. Alaska Air Group has a one year low of $30.75 and a one year high of $57.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.22. The stock has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.07, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.62) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $249,340.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $999,201.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALK. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 78.2% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,980 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 4,379 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 23.6% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 34,204 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,984,000 after acquiring an additional 6,520 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 7.1% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 16,847 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the first quarter worth $980,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 3.4% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 17,972 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,077,000 after buying an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. 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.