Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $52.70 and last traded at $52.61, with a volume of 107500 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ALK. Citigroup decreased their target price 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 shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.17.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $44.24 and its 200 day moving average is $41.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $262,789,000 after acquiring an additional 357,907 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,966,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $170,533,000 after acquiring an additional 155,403 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,969,295 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $119,960,000 after acquiring an additional 220,030 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,593,756 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,054,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,590,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,239,000 after acquiring an additional 122,325 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

About Alaska Air Group

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.