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 earnings per share guidance of $2.20-3.20 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $2.12. Alaska Air Group also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 3.250-5.250 EPS.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 4.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ALK opened at $42.72 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.36 and its 200 day moving average is $37.12. Alaska Air Group has a 12-month low of $30.75 and a 12-month high of $57.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 2.25%. Alaska Air Group’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.62) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $41.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com lowered Alaska Air Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group began coverage on Alaska Air Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a buy rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $51.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $57.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $249,340.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,201.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,331,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $561,068,000 after purchasing an additional 257,583 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 9.1% in the 2nd 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 during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,105,350 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $218,323,000 after purchasing an additional 91,940 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,425,916 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $147,109,000 after purchasing an additional 556,766 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,761,201 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $118,566,000 after purchasing an additional 49,354 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

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.