Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Analysts at BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 29.28% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $63.00 target price on Alaska Air Group in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $52.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $69.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.82.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 4.8%

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $38.68 on Tuesday. Alaska Air Group has a 1-year low of $36.68 and a 1-year high of $65.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.99. The company has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 44.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.32. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 0.70% and a return on equity of 7.22%. The business had revenue of $3.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 earnings per share. Alaska Air Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Alaska Air Group has set its Q1 2026 guidance at -1.500–0.500 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-6.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In related news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.15, for a total value of $1,371,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 43,377 shares in the company, valued at $2,478,995.55. This trade represents a 35.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kyle B. Levine sold 2,945 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total transaction of $176,758.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,977 shares in the company, valued at $1,259,039.54. The trade was a 12.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,945 shares of company stock worth $3,204,569. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALK. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 40.1% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 173,610 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $8,642,000 after purchasing an additional 49,663 shares during the last quarter. CM Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,244,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 206,172 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,263,000 after buying an additional 46,445 shares in the last quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $417,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,194,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group is a publicly traded holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, that operates two main airlines—Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. Through these carriers, the company offers scheduled passenger and cargo services across a network spanning the United States, Canada and Mexico. Its core business activities include domestic and international air transportation, loyalty program management under the Mileage Plan brand, and ancillary revenue streams such as baggage fees, in-flight sales and code-share partnerships with other global airlines.

The roots of Alaska Air Group trace back to the foundation of its flagship carrier, Alaska Airlines, in 1932.