Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $52.70 and last traded at $52.61, with a volume of 107500 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ALK. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Melius Research upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.25.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 2.3 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $44.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.28. The company has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $262,789,000 after buying an additional 357,907 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,966,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $170,533,000 after buying an additional 155,403 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.0% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.4% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 122,325 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is 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.