Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $76.45 and last traded at $75.13, with a volume of 2617564 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $75.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ALK. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Melius raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.86.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 1.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.16. The stock has a market cap of $9.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.55.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $252,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $767,300.58. The trade was a 24.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total value of $317,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,362 shares in the company, valued at $1,739,128.72. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 137,548 shares of company stock worth $9,513,807. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALK. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 29,816 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,931,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,284 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.