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

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) issued an update on its FY24 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. 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.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $44.20 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $39.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.12. Alaska Air Group has a 1 year low of $30.75 and a 1 year high of $57.18. The company has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.85) by ($0.07). Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 2.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.62) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ALK shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $41.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $51.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Melius downgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $57.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at $999,201.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 416.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 568 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 19.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,811 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.