Hudson Securities Reiterates Buy Rating on Alaska Air Group (ALK)

Hudson Securities is out with a research report this morning, where it reiterates its Buy rating on Alaska Air Group ALK; it has a $72.00 price target on the stock, up from $70.00. The HS analysts cited the company's recently announced traffic results, where ALK stated that Q1 2011 PRASM will rise 3-4% and that costs will now come in lower vs prior expectations. The improved outlook adds $7M ($0.20/share) to the Hudson analysts' Q1 EPS. As for valuation, the analysts remarked, “Raising our PT to $72 (from $70) based on shares trading at 9x (unchanged) our fully taxed 2011 EPS. Using EV/EBITDAR, the carrier today trades at 3.1x, a 37% discount to the group. On either measure, valuation remains attractive.”