Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $58.91.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 2nd. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $41.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. StockNews.com started coverage on Alaska Air Group in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $62.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, October 5th.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,331,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $561,068,000 after purchasing an additional 257,583 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,029,161 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $426,991,000 after acquiring an additional 40,314 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 9.1% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,951,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $422,861,000 after acquiring an additional 660,917 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 13.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,245,140 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $225,752,000 after purchasing an additional 491,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 2.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,105,350 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $218,323,000 after purchasing an additional 91,940 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.58% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ALK opened at $36.76 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.98. Alaska Air Group has a 12-month low of $30.75 and a 12-month high of $57.18. The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The transportation company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by ($0.04). Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 17.06% and a net margin of 2.50%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 4.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operated airlines. The company operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing and Airbus jet aircraft for passengers and cargo throughout the United States, and in parts of Mexico, Costa Rica, and Belize; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States and Canada.