Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $72.41 and last traded at $72.15, with a volume of 204288 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ALK. 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.86.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $9.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.31 and a 200 day moving average of $49.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.78%. On average, equities analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Emily Halverson sold 1,329 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $85,600.89. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,150 shares in the company, valued at $460,531.50. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.89, for a total transaction of $51,112.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,072.54. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,718 shares of company stock worth $9,379,631. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 27.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 77,281 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,123,000 after purchasing an additional 16,743 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 2.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 29,367 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after buying an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,529 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,082,000 after acquiring an additional 2,538 shares during the last quarter. American Trust lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 17.3% during the second quarter. American Trust now owns 6,562 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $189,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.