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

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)’s stock price 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. The stock had previously closed at $52.55.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. 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 report on Monday, October 28th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup cut their price target on Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. 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, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2,087.8% during 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 worth $26,390,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $64,300,000 after buying an additional 442,331 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised 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 valued at $262,789,000 after buying an additional 357,907 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,475,000. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 2.7 %

The company has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.60. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.21.

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