Alaska Air Group (ALK) Competitors

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) and American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) are both mid-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, dividends, media sentiment, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Do insiders and institutionals believe in ALK or AAL?

81.9% of Alaska Air Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.4% of American Airlines Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Alaska Air Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of American Airlines Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend ALK or AAL?

Alaska Air Group presently has a consensus price target of $67.83, indicating a potential upside of 23.81%. American Airlines Group has a consensus price target of $16.82, indicating a potential upside of 33.84%. Given American Airlines Group's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe American Airlines Group is more favorable than Alaska Air Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alaska Air Group	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.92
American Airlines Group	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63

Does the media favor ALK or AAL?

In the previous week, Alaska Air Group had 2 more articles in the media than American Airlines Group. MarketBeat recorded 22 mentions for Alaska Air Group and 20 mentions for American Airlines Group. American Airlines Group's average media sentiment score of 1.07 beat Alaska Air Group's score of 1.03 indicating that American Airlines Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Alaska Air Group	16 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
American Airlines Group	13 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ALK or AAL more profitable?

Alaska Air Group has a net margin of 2.33% compared to American Airlines Group's net margin of 1.05%. Alaska Air Group's return on equity of 12.62% beat American Airlines Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alaska Air Group	2.33%	12.62%	2.70%
American Airlines Group	1.05%	-24.55%	1.68%

Which has more risk and volatility, ALK or AAL?

Alaska Air Group has a beta of 1.45, suggesting that its share price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Airlines Group has a beta of 1.43, suggesting that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, ALK or AAL?

American Airlines Group has higher revenue and earnings than Alaska Air Group. American Airlines Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alaska Air Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alaska Air Group	$13.45B	0.47	$395M	$2.46	22.27
American Airlines Group	$54.21B	0.15	$846M	$0.80	15.71

Summary

Alaska Air Group beats American Airlines Group on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.