Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Stock Price

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its price target reduced by stock analysts at Barclays from $80.00 to $62.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 22.75% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group downgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $75.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $95.00 to $55.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen lifted 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 note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.15.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $50.51 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.37. Alaska Air Group has a fifty-two week low of $32.62 and a fifty-two week high of $78.08. 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 (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,651,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $883,959,000 after purchasing an additional 56,409 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,225,054 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $403,076,000 after purchasing an additional 56,740 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position 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 valued at $301,048,000 after buying an additional 3,564,749 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,460,959 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $224,121,000 after buying an additional 222,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 134.0% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,134,221 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $138,191,000 after buying an additional 1,222,277 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is 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.