Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $54.60.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised Alaska Air Group from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALK. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,529 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,082,000 after purchasing an additional 2,538 shares in the last quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 3.5% during the second quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,887 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 29,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,184,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 29,367 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after buying an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 106.6% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 30,367 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after buying an additional 15,667 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALK opened at $34.78 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.82. Alaska Air Group has a twelve month low of $30.75 and a twelve month high of $46.15.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 11.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 4.09 EPS for the current 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.