Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Releases FY24 Earnings Guidance

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) updated its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $3.25-5.25 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $4.36. Alaska Air Group also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 3.250-5.250 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALK. StockNews.com raised Alaska Air Group from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Alaska Air Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the company from $44.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Melius lowered Alaska Air Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group began coverage on Alaska Air Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a buy rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $57.85.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALK opened at $45.02 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.68 and a 200-day moving average of $37.22. The company has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.63. Alaska Air Group has a one year low of $30.75 and a one year high of $57.18. 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 (NYSE:ALK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.17. The company 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 13.54% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.62) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $999,201.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 416.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 568 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 19.5% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 2,141 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,149 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 2,452 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 19.9% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,811 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 300 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.