Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Melius downgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.85.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

NYSE ALK opened at $45.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Alaska Air Group has a 52-week low of $30.75 and a 52-week high of $57.18. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.23. The firm has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.63.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.17. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.62) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $249,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,201.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 1,676.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 149,089 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $58,250,000 after acquiring an additional 140,698 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,554,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $94,712,000 after acquiring an additional 358,749 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,813,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,213,630 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,001,000 after acquiring an additional 71,726 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 63.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 366,619 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,594,000 after acquiring an additional 142,310 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is currently 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.