Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Price Target Lowered to $75.00 at UBS Group

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its target price cut by UBS Group from $87.00 to $75.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 41.12% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.00.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

NYSE ALK traded down $0.98 on Thursday, hitting $53.15. The stock had a trading volume of 253,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,360,810. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.04 and a 200-day moving average of $56.80. The company has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. Alaska Air Group has a 52-week low of $32.62 and a 52-week high of $78.08.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 3.37%. Equities analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In other news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total value of $134,175.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,487,369.52. This represents a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 9,500 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total transaction of $654,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 9,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $677,976. The trade was a 49.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 154,725 shares of company stock worth $11,217,263. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 61.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 955 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new position in Alaska Air Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

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.