Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $68.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Alaska Air Group traded as high as $54.66 and last traded at $53.39, with a volume of 237353 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.55.

Several other research firms have also commented on ALK. Barclays upped their target price on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna upped 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 note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Melius Research raised shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered 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 note on Thursday, August 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.08.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 283,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,457,000 after buying an additional 33,717 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 358.9% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 27,428 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,240,000 after buying an additional 21,451 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 211.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 47,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,054,000 after buying an additional 32,442 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 45.1% in the third 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, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 156.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 83,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,788,000 after acquiring an additional 51,096 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.21. The company has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 2.99%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.