Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by $0.17, RTT News reports. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.62) earnings per share. Alaska Air Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

NYSE:ALK traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $45.01. The stock had a trading volume of 3,135,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,436,116. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.65. Alaska Air Group has a 52 week low of $30.75 and a 52 week high of $57.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.07, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Alaska Air Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Melius downgraded Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Alaska Air Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $249,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,201.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,331,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $561,068,000 after purchasing an additional 257,583 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,951,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $422,861,000 after purchasing an additional 660,917 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,105,350 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $218,323,000 after purchasing an additional 91,940 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,425,916 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $147,109,000 after acquiring an additional 556,766 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,761,201 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $118,566,000 after acquiring an additional 49,354 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.