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6 Reasons Why Investors Should Buy Alaska Air (ALK) Stock Now

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Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK - Free Report) is benefiting from continued recovery in air-travel demand. Notably, Alaska Air expects first-quarter 2023 total revenues to increase 29-32% from the first quarter of 2022 actuals. The company’s measures to reward its shareholders are encouraging.

Against this backdrop, let’s look at the factors that make this stock an attractive pick.

What Makes Alaska Air an Attractive Pick?

An Outperformer: A glimpse at the company’s price trend reveals that the stock has had an impressive run on the bourse over the past three months. Shares of Alaska Air have gained 7.2% over the past three months, outperforming the 5.3% rise of the industry it belongs to.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Solid Rank & VGM Score: Alaska Air currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and has a VGM Score of A. Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2, offer the best investment opportunities. Thus, the company seems to be an appropriate investment proposition at the moment. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Northward Estimate Revisions:The direction of estimate revisions serves as an important pointer when it comes to the price of a stock. Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Alaska Air’s 2023 earnings has moved up 7.1% year over year. For 2024, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALK's  earnings has moved up 1.7% year over year. 

Positive Earnings Surprise History: Alaska Air has an impressive earnings surprise history. The company delivered an earnings surprise of 8.98% in the last four quarters, on average.

Earnings Expectations: Earnings growth and stock price gains often indicate a company’s prospects. For first-quarter 2023, Alaska Air’s earnings are expected to register 73.68% growth. For 2023 and 2024, the company’s earnings are expected to grow 28.28% and 25.33% year over year, respectively. ALK has a long-term expected growth rate of 19.47%.

Growth Factors:Alaska Air’s top line is benefiting from continued recovery in air-travel demand. On the back of upbeat air-travel demand and favorable pricing, Alaska Air reported better-than-expected earnings per share in fourth-quarter 2022. ALK expects first-quarter 2023 total revenues to increase 29-32% from the first quarter of 2022 actuals. To match the upbeat demand, capacity in the March quarter is expected to expand in the 11-14% range. Further, Alaska Air announced plans to resume share repurchases in early 2023. Repurchases are anticipated to lie between $75 million and $100 million in 2023.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks from the broader Zacks Transportation sector are Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA - Free Report) and American Airlines (AAL - Free Report) . Copa Holdings presently sports a Zacks Rank #1, while American Airlines currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Copa Holdings has an expected earnings growth rate of 31.58% for the current year. CPA delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 48.95%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CPA’s current-year earnings has improved 9.3% over the past 90 days. Shares of CPA have soared 25.8% over the past six months.

AAL has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. AAL delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 8.62%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AAL’s current-year earnings has improved 19.3% over the past 90 days. Shares of AAL have gained 12.9% over the past six months.

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