Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Price Target Cut to $70.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its price objective decreased by Bank of America from $80.00 to $70.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on ALK. Susquehanna raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Alaska Air Group from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.23.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 10.2 %

ALK stock opened at $45.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Alaska Air Group has a twelve month low of $32.62 and a twelve month high of $78.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $64.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.67.

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

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In other news, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total value of $654,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,840 shares in the company, valued at $677,976. This represents a 49.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total transaction of $134,175.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,487,369.52. This trade represents a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 154,725 shares of company stock valued at $11,217,263 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 328.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,649,388 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $301,048,000 after acquiring an additional 3,564,749 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,459,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 134.0% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,134,221 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $138,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222,277 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4,615.3% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 943,064 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $61,063,000 after purchasing an additional 923,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candlestick Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter worth about $51,306,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

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.