In the latest trading session, Alaska Air Group (ALK) closed at $64.36, marking a +0.64% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.09% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.26%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.25%.
Heading into today, shares of the airline had gained 10.03% over the past month, lagging the Transportation sector's gain of 10.4% and outpacing the S&P 500's gain of 7.92% in that time.
ALK will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be April 22, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.33, up 135.71% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $1.93 billion, up 5.41% from the prior-year quarter.
ALK's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $6.71 per share and revenue of $8.80 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +50.45% and +6.48%, respectively.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for ALK. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 6.55% higher. ALK is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Looking at its valuation, ALK is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 9.54. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 9.67.
We can also see that ALK currently has a PEG ratio of 1.7. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Transportation - Airline industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.88 as of yesterday's close.
The Transportation - Airline industry is part of the Transportation sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 3, which puts it in the top 2% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow ALK in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK): Free Stock Analysis Report
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