Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Shares Gap Up to $39.49

Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $39.49, but opened at $40.94. Alaska Air Group shares last traded at $39.72, with a volume of 321,027 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America lifted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $36.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.79. The firm has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.59.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.19. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALK. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $262,789,000 after purchasing an additional 357,907 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,966,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $170,533,000 after buying an additional 155,403 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,969,295 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $119,960,000 after buying an additional 220,030 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 8.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,590,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,239,000 after acquiring an additional 122,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 8.6% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,063,379 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,715,000 after acquiring an additional 83,868 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.