Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Releases Q2 Earnings Guidance

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) updated its second quarter earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $2.20-3.20 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12. Alaska Air Group also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 3.250-5.250 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Alaska Air Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a buy rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Alaska Air Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the company from $44.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Susquehanna raised 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, Evercore ISI raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $57.85.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 4.0 %

ALK stock opened at $44.45 on Friday. Alaska Air Group has a twelve month low of $30.75 and a twelve month high of $57.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.52 and a 200 day moving average of $37.17.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.17. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 2.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.62) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,201.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALK. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 78.2% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,980 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 4,379 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 34,204 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,984,000 after buying an additional 6,520 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 16,847 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 1st quarter worth $980,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 17,972 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,077,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

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.