Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Stock Jumps 8.4% – Time to Buy?

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) shot up 8.4% on Monday. The stock traded as high as $38.85 and last traded at $38.7090. Approximately 729,460 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 3,647,817 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALK has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Friday, September 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $41.00 target price on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Barclays set a $52.00 price objective on Alaska Air Group and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective (down from $44.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Thursday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.62.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 9.4%

The firm has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of -11.13 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.12.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The transportation company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.03). Alaska Air Group had a negative return on equity of 5.42% and a negative net margin of 2.58%. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post -4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Benito Minicucci acquired 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $40.06 per share, with a total value of $1,001,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 256,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,278,674.92. This trade represents a 10.80% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the second quarter worth $606,307,000. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter worth $168,467,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the second quarter worth approximately $34,776,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,751,000. Finally, Privium Fund Management UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,195,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group, Inc is an airline holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Its principal subsidiaries include Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, which operate under separate brands while serving passengers throughout North America, the Pacific and other international markets.

Alaska Airlines provides scheduled passenger and air cargo services across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica and the Bahamas, with a strong presence on the U.S. West Coast and in Alaska.