Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Hits 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 Friday . The stock traded as high as $69.10 and last traded at $68.09, with a volume of 542804 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on ALK. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on 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. Melius upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.14.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $58.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.18. The stock has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.54.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 2.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Alaska Air Group news, VP Emily Halverson sold 1,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $85,600.89. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,150 shares in the company, valued at $460,531.50. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total transaction of $317,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,362 shares in the company, valued at $1,739,128.72. The trade was a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 2,087.8% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 762,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,490,000 after acquiring an additional 728,019 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the third quarter valued at about $26,390,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 45.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,422,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,300,000 after buying an additional 442,331 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 5.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $262,789,000 after buying an additional 357,907 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 32.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,037,000 after buying an additional 265,343 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.