UBS Group Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK)

UBS Group reiterated their buy rating on shares of Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. UBS Group currently has a $72.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock.

ALK has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.69.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

NYSE ALK opened at $52.60 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $47.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.95. Alaska Air Group has a fifty-two week low of $32.00 and a fifty-two week high of $54.14. The company has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Alaska Air Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALK. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 13.5% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 283,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,457,000 after purchasing an additional 33,717 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 358.9% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 27,428 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 21,451 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 4.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,966,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $170,533,000 after acquiring an additional 155,403 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 88.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 174,178 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,488,000 after acquiring an additional 81,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 211.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 47,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 32,442 shares during the last quarter. 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.