Alaska Air Group’s (ALK) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at The Goldman Sachs Group

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $70.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 32.38% from the stock’s current price.

ALK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on 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. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Alaska Air Group from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Melius raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.31.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 2.3 %

ALK opened at $52.88 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.59. Alaska Air Group has a 12 month low of $32.00 and a 12 month high of $53.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.28.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALK. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,938 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,063 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.