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Are Investors Undervaluing Alaska Air Group (ALK) Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, our focus is on the proven Zacks Rank system, which emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find great stocks. Nevertheless, we are always paying attention to the latest value, growth, and momentum trends to underscore strong picks.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is Alaska Air Group (ALK - Free Report) . ALK is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 7.21, which compares to its industry's average of 8.84. Over the last 12 months, ALK's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.62 and as low as 6.35, with a median of 8.59.

Investors should also recognize that ALK has a P/B ratio of 1.52. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 3.79. Over the past year, ALK's P/B has been as high as 2.04 and as low as 1.27, with a median of 1.50.

If you're looking for another solid Transportation - Airline value stock, take a look at Copa Holdings (CPA - Free Report) . CPA is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value score of A.

Additionally, Copa Holdings has a P/B ratio of 2.34 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 3.79. For CPA, this valuation metric has been as high as 2.67, as low as 1.81, with a median of 2.33 over the past year.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Alaska Air Group and Copa Holdings are likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, ALK and CPA sticks out as one of the market's strongest value stocks.


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Copa Holdings, S.A. (CPA) - free report >>

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