Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

31 Mar 2026, 05:54 by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets Daily

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

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ALK. Zacks Research upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $63.00 target price on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.82.

View Our Latest Analysis on Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 5.3%

NYSE ALK opened at $34.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.16. Alaska Air Group has a 52-week low of $33.03 and a 52-week high of $65.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.09.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.64 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 7.22% and a net margin of 0.70%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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. Equities research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.15, for a total value of $1,371,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 43,377 shares in the company, valued at $2,478,995.55. This represents a 35.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kyle B. Levine sold 2,945 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,259,039.54. The trade was a 12.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 56,945 shares of company stock valued at $3,204,569 over the last three months. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. Ellis Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 40,885 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,035,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co now owns 36,589 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 249 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Alaska Air Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alaska Air Group this week:

Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital began coverage with an Outperform rating and a $50 price target, highlighting longer-term earnings expansion potential despite near-term fuel-cost uncertainty — this provides outside analyst support for the stock’s recovery case. BMO Highlights Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK) Earnings Expansion Potential
Positive Sentiment: Alaska Airlines named Lindsay‑Rae McIntyre as Chief People Officer, a senior hire from Microsoft/IBM to lead talent, culture and HR operations — a governance/operational move that can help execution as the airline navigates capacity and service challenges. Alaska Airlines names Lindsay-Rae McIntyre Chief People Officer
Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes that demand remains strong in parts of the network, but the company still projects a Q1 loss — reinforcing that revenue trends are mixed and the near-term result hinges on fuel and disruption cost swings. Alaska Air Sees Strong Demand but Projects Q1 Loss
Neutral Sentiment: Some smaller analyst/coverage moves (e.g., upgrade to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen, comparative write-ups) create limited short-term trading interest but aren’t material to fundamentals. Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen
Negative Sentiment: Alaska warned higher jet‑fuel costs — driven by surging oil prices from the Middle East conflict — will worsen its Q1 adjusted loss by at least $0.70 per share, increasing short‑term earnings risk and pressuring margins. Alaska Air Says Higher Fuel Costs Will Exacerbate Losses
Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say Alaska signaled a bigger Q1 loss after factoring in higher fuel costs plus disruptions from Puerto Vallarta unrest and storms in Hawaii — these operational headwinds increase uncertainty around guidance and near-term free cash flow. Alaska Air signals bigger first-quarter loss as fuel costs surge Alaska Air warns of Q1 profit hit from high fuel costs, Puerto Vallarta unrest, and Hawaii storms

About Alaska Air Group

(Get Free Report)

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.