The latest trading session saw Alaska Air Group (ALK) ending at $53.34, denoting a -0.56% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.49%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.22%.
The airline's stock has dropped by 26.37% in the past month, falling short of the Transportation sector's loss of 9.55% and the S&P 500's loss of 8.15%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Alaska Air Group in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be -$0.56, reflecting a 39.13% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $3.23 billion, up 44.72% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $6.04 per share and revenue of $14.8 billion. These totals would mark changes of +24.02% and +26.13%, respectively, from last year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Alaska Air Group. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.17% upward. At present, Alaska Air Group boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Investors should also note Alaska Air Group's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 8.89. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 8.59.
Also, we should mention that ALK has a PEG ratio of 0.33. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Transportation - Airline industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.66 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Transportation - Airline industry is part of the Transportation sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 52, putting it in the top 21% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
