Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Issues Q2 Earnings Guidance

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) updated its second quarter earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided EPS guidance of $2.20-3.20 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $2.12. Alaska Air Group also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 3.250-5.250 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ALK. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Alaska Air Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $51.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Alaska Air Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $57.85.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 4.0 %

ALK stock opened at $44.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a PEG ratio of 0.86 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 has a one year low of $30.75 and a one year high of $57.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.17.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 2.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.62) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $249,340.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $999,201.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ALK. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the first quarter worth $62,390,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the first quarter worth $30,293,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter worth $30,980,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 9.1% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,951,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $422,861,000 after purchasing an additional 660,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 316.5% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 739,350 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,886,000 after purchasing an additional 561,850 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

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.