Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $46.16 and last traded at $46.01, with a volume of 156762 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ALK. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.60.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.48.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.14%. Alaska Air Group’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clarius Group LLC increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 54.0% during the third quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 31,304 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after buying an additional 10,982 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 224.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,285 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 9,882 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 952.4% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,105 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the second quarter worth about $189,000. Finally, American Trust raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 17.3% in the second quarter. American Trust now owns 6,562 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

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.