Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Price Target Raised to $79.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its price objective hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $70.00 to $79.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Melius raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Melius Research raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.79.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

ALK stock opened at $67.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $58.86 and a 200-day moving average of $46.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.54. Alaska Air Group has a 12 month low of $32.62 and a 12 month high of $69.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Alaska Air Group news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total value of $317,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,739,128.72. The trade was a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 2,325 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.38, for a total value of $149,683.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,109.20. This trade represents a 10.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the second quarter valued at about $281,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $262,789,000 after purchasing an additional 357,907 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 27,385 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013 shares during the period. First Washington CORP raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Washington CORP now owns 146,062 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,901,000 after purchasing an additional 15,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 17.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 178,466 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,210,000 after buying an additional 26,601 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.