Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ALK. UBS Group set a $77.00 price objective on Alaska Air Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $63.00 target price on Alaska Air Group in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $69.00 price target (up from $61.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Alaska Air Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.40.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ALK opened at $42.36 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.81 and a 200-day moving average of $50.72. The firm has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Alaska Air Group has a twelve month low of $37.63 and a twelve month high of $65.88.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 0.70% and a return on equity of 7.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. Alaska Air Group has set its Q1 2026 guidance at -1.500–0.500 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-6.500 EPS. Analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Alaska Air Group news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.15, for a total value of $1,371,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 43,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,478,995.55. This represents a 35.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kyle B. Levine sold 2,945 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total transaction of $176,758.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,259,039.54. The trade was a 12.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 56,945 shares of company stock worth $3,204,569 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALK. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 80.5% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 628 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 242.5% during the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 685 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group is a publicly traded holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, that operates two main airlines—Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. Through these carriers, the company offers scheduled passenger and cargo services across a network spanning the United States, Canada and Mexico. Its core business activities include domestic and international air transportation, loyalty program management under the Mileage Plan brand, and ancillary revenue streams such as baggage fees, in-flight sales and code-share partnerships with other global airlines.

The roots of Alaska Air Group trace back to the foundation of its flagship carrier, Alaska Airlines, in 1932.