Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.14.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total transaction of $234,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,338,961. The trade was a 14.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 13,880 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total transaction of $888,458.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,321,038.38. The trade was a 40.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,462 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,066,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 633,514 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,312,000 after acquiring an additional 24,796 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,061,596 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $93,229,000 after acquiring an additional 78,186 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ALK traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $66.26. 1,777,405 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,541,994. The company's 50-day moving average is $58.10 and its 200-day moving average is $46.18. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.54. Alaska Air Group has a 52-week low of $32.62 and a 52-week high of $67.73.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. Alaska Air Group's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.