Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $52.08 and last traded at $51.89, with a volume of 173354 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $51.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ALK. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays initiated coverage on Alaska Air Group in a report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Alaska Air Group from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.17.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.59. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 2.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Interval Partners LP grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 40,000 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,993,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 283,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,457,000 after acquiring an additional 33,717 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,966,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $170,533,000 after purchasing an additional 155,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 88.0% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 174,178 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,488,000 after purchasing an additional 81,533 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.