Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Updates Q2 Earnings Guidance

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) issued an update on its second quarter earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $2.20-3.20 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $2.12. Alaska Air Group also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 3.250-5.250 EPS.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of ALK opened at $45.01 on Friday. The firm 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. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Alaska Air Group has a 1 year low of $30.75 and a 1 year high of $57.18.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by $0.17. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.62) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALK has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Alaska Air Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the company from $44.00 to $51.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Bank of America upped their target price on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group started coverage on Alaska Air Group in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a buy rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Alaska Air Group from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday. Four investment 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $57.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $999,201.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 416.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 568 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 19.5% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 2,141 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,149 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 2,452 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 19.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,811 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.