Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Shares Up 5.5%

Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) shot up 5.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $38.23 and last traded at $38.11. 652,591 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 2,192,901 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 0.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.74.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $69,000. 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.