Seaport Res Ptn Expects Higher Earnings for Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) - Research analysts at Seaport Res Ptn raised their FY2024 EPS estimates for shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report issued on Wednesday, December 11th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst D. Mckenzie now expects that the transportation company will post earnings per share of $4.38 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $4.26. The consensus estimate for Alaska Air Group's current full-year earnings is $4.30 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Alaska Air Group's Q4 2024 earnings at $0.47 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.70 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $7.50 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $10.00 EPS.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Melius upgraded Alaska Air Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $56.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Alaska Air Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $56.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

ALK traded down $0.83 during trading on Friday, reaching $62.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,723,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,291,301. The company has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. The company's fifty day moving average price is $50.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.01. Alaska Air Group has a 52-week low of $32.62 and a 52-week high of $65.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 5.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $262,789,000 after purchasing an additional 357,907 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,969,295 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $119,960,000 after acquiring an additional 220,030 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,061,596 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $93,229,000 after acquiring an additional 78,186 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,593,756 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $72,054,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 8.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,590,078 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $64,239,000 after acquiring an additional 122,325 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 13,880 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total value of $888,458.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,321,038.38. This represents a 40.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 4,000 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total transaction of $252,360.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $767,300.58. This trade represents a 24.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,580 shares of company stock valued at $1,693,569 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

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.