Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Price Target Lowered to $81.00 at Citigroup

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) had its price objective cut by stock analysts at Citigroup from $83.00 to $81.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 53.79% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on ALK. 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 raised 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.54.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALK traded down $2.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $52.67. 520,492 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,351,815. Alaska Air Group has a 52 week low of $32.62 and a 52 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. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.71. The company has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.50.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 22,893 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.74, for a total value of $1,733,915.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,414,061.02. This represents a 41.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 22,157 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.12, for a total transaction of $1,664,433.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,504,353.12. This trade represents a 52.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 159,179 shares of company stock valued at $11,503,659 over the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 11.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,316 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 2,858 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 54.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 19,147 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $866,000 after acquiring an additional 6,734 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 1,531,200.0% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 15,313 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 15,312 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 9.8% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,763 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Alaska Air Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,673,000. 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.