Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Price Target Raised to $74.00 at Citigroup

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $63.00 to $74.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the transportation company's stock. Citigroup's price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.72% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on ALK. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded 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 report on Monday, October 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.86.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Alaska Air Group stock traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $63.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,109,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,294,680. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $50.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.19. Alaska Air Group has a 52-week low of $32.62 and a 52-week high of $65.62.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 3,700 shares of the firm'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 $1,338,961. This trade represents a 14.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 13,880 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total value of $888,458.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,638 shares in the company, valued at $1,321,038.38. This represents a 40.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,580 shares of company stock valued at $1,693,569. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALK. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the third quarter worth $45,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 86.0% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 952.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,105 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

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.