Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Trading 4.4% Higher

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) shares rose 4.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $42.90 and last traded at $42.60. Approximately 3,063,507 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 26% from the average daily volume of 2,438,353 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered Alaska Air Group from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $39.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group began coverage on Alaska Air Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Finally, Melius lowered Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.44.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.08.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The transportation company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 2.25%. Alaska Air Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In related news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $249,340.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $999,201.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 78.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,980 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 4,379 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 34,204 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,984,000 after acquiring an additional 6,520 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 16,847 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $980,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 17,972 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.