Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Trading Up 5.5%

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)’s share price shot up 5.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $38.23 and last traded at $38.11. 652,591 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 2,192,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, May 17th. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $36.84 and its 200-day moving average is $39.74.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALK. Jade Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,954,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter worth $1,144,000. Interval Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 80,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,439,000 after acquiring an additional 40,000 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,811,191 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $148,861,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495,311 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,993,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.