Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $76.94 and last traded at $77.31, with a volume of 564074 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $75.34.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.86.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 2.2 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $68.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. As a group, research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alaska Air Group news, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $252,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $767,300.58. This trade represents a 24.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Emily Halverson sold 1,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $85,600.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,531.50. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 160,441 shares of company stock valued at $11,247,722. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,037,000 after purchasing an additional 265,343 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 54.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 57,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after buying an additional 20,347 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter valued at $772,000. Entropy Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 358.9% during the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 27,428 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after buying an additional 21,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 156.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 83,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,788,000 after buying an additional 51,096 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by 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.