Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Shares Gap Up to $42.72

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $42.72, but opened at $44.12. Alaska Air Group shares last traded at $43.80, with a volume of 623,963 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on ALK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $51.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $41.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alaska Air Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.44.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $39.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.17.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.85) by ($0.07). Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.62) EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $249,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $999,201.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALK. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 64.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,811,191 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $148,861,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495,311 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 1st quarter worth $62,390,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 1st quarter worth $30,293,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,980,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,951,500 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $422,861,000 after purchasing an additional 660,917 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% 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.