Wall Street Zen Upgrades Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) to “Hold”

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

ALK has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $69.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up from $60.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.82.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

ALK opened at $36.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.40. Alaska Air Group has a 1 year low of $35.89 and a 1 year high of $65.88. The company has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 41.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.17.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 7.22% and a net margin of 0.70%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. Alaska Air Group has set its Q1 2026 guidance at -1.500–0.500 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-6.500 EPS. Research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In related news, EVP Kyle B. Levine sold 2,945 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.02, for a total value of $176,758.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,259,039.54. This represents a 12.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.63, for a total transaction of $311,465.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,828 shares in the company, valued at $1,745,789.64. This represents a 15.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,204,569. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ellis Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 40,885 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,035,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 910 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 19.9% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.7% during the third quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co now owns 36,589 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 6.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,387 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group is a publicly traded holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, that operates two main airlines—Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. Through these carriers, the company offers scheduled passenger and cargo services across a network spanning the United States, Canada and Mexico. Its core business activities include domestic and international air transportation, loyalty program management under the Mileage Plan brand, and ancillary revenue streams such as baggage fees, in-flight sales and code-share partnerships with other global airlines.

The roots of Alaska Air Group trace back to the foundation of its flagship carrier, Alaska Airlines, in 1932.