Bank of America Raises Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Price Target to $55.00

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its price target upped by Bank of America from $50.00 to $55.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research raised Alaska Air Group from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on Alaska Air Group from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $54.00.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Alaska Air Group stock opened at $41.64 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.59. Alaska Air Group has a twelve month low of $30.75 and a twelve month high of $46.15.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post 4.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALK. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 1st quarter worth $65,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the second quarter valued at about $69,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.