Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $70.00 and last traded at $69.42, with a volume of 15675 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.88.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Melius raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Melius Research raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.57.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 2.99%. Alaska Air Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alaska Air Group news, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $252,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $767,300.58. This trade represents a 24.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total transaction of $317,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,739,128.72. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342 over the last three months. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALK. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,969,295 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $119,960,000 after purchasing an additional 220,030 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,061,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $93,229,000 after buying an additional 78,186 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,593,756 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,054,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 45.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,422,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,300,000 after acquiring an additional 442,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter valued at $82,459,000. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.