Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALKGet Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $69.10 and last traded at $68.09, with a volume of 542804 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $66.29.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ALK shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.14.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.54.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALKGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 2.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 13,880 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total value of $888,458.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,321,038.38. This represents a 40.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Emily Halverson sold 1,329 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,531.50. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $262,789,000 after purchasing an additional 357,907 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,969,295 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $119,960,000 after buying an additional 220,030 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,061,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $93,229,000 after buying an additional 78,186 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,593,756 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,054,000 after buying an additional 6,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,590,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,239,000 after buying an additional 122,325 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

About Alaska Air Group

(Get Free Report)

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.

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