Brokerages Set Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Price Target at $56.60

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.60.

Several brokerages have commented on ALK. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Alaska Air Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of ALK stock opened at $40.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.65. Alaska Air Group has a twelve month low of $30.75 and a twelve month high of $57.18. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.61.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.62) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 4.71 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 215.8% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 761 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 255.5% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 775 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 456.1% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 912 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group in the first quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.