Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $63.90 and last traded at $60.88, with a volume of 1031535 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ALK shares. Melius Research raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Melius raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.08.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 14.1 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.97 and a 200-day moving average of $42.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.60.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2,087.8% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 762,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,490,000 after purchasing an additional 728,019 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the third quarter worth $26,390,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 45.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,422,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,300,000 after purchasing an additional 442,331 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 5.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $262,789,000 after purchasing an additional 357,907 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the second quarter valued at $11,475,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

About Alaska Air Group

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.