Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Given New $42.00 Price Target at Susquehanna

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) had its target price upped by Susquehanna from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the transportation company's stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ALK. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alaska Air Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a buy rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $57.85.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALK traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $45.02. The company had a trading volume of 3,135,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,509,428. Alaska Air Group has a 12-month low of $30.75 and a 12-month high of $57.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $39.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.22.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by $0.17. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.62) EPS. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,461,295 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $536,225,000 after buying an additional 47,871 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 9.1% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,951,500 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $422,861,000 after buying an additional 660,917 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,439,909 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $212,543,000 after buying an additional 660,455 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,105,350 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $218,323,000 after purchasing an additional 91,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,811,191 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $148,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495,311 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.