Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.17 EPS

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by $0.17, RTT News reports. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.62) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $45.02 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.22. The stock has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.63. Alaska Air Group has a fifty-two week low of $30.75 and a fifty-two week high of $57.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALK has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Alaska Air Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Alaska Air Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Melius lowered Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 15.4% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,204 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter worth about $221,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter worth about $211,000. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Wetherby Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 1st quarter worth about $201,000. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.