The most recent trading session ended with Alaska Air Group (ALK) standing at $51.62, reflecting a -1.64% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily loss of 0.56%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.58%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.51%.
Heading into today, shares of the airline had gained 20.09% over the past month, outpacing the Transportation sector's gain of 9.07% and the S&P 500's gain of 7.37% in that time.
The upcoming earnings release of Alaska Air Group will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.57, reflecting a 38.43% decrease from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $3.66 billion, indicating a 26.26% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $3.65 per share and a revenue of $14.21 billion, indicating changes of -25.05% and +21.09%, respectively, from the former year.
Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Alaska Air Group. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 17.22% lower within the past month. Alaska Air Group currently has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).
In terms of valuation, Alaska Air Group is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 14.37. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 9.31, which means Alaska Air Group is trading at a premium to the group.
Investors should also note that ALK has a PEG ratio of 0.53 right now. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Transportation - Airline was holding an average PEG ratio of 0.89 at yesterday's closing price.
The Transportation - Airline industry is part of the Transportation sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 134, positioning it in the bottom 46% 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.
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Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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