Update: Shares Of Alaska Air Flies Higher Following Q4 Print

Shares of

were trading higher by nearly 6 percent at $71.04 by mid-Thursday afternoon after trading as high as $72.26 earlier in the day. Alaska Air Group reported its

before the market opened. The company said that it earned $1.46 per share on revenue of $1.377 billion. Wall Street analysts were looking for the company to earn $1.40 per share on revenue of $1.38 billion. Alaska Air Group noted that its net income for the quarter rose 49 percent from the same quarter a year ago to a record high of $186 million. For the full fiscal year, net income rose 47 percent from a year ago to $842 million. The company also added that it grew passenger revenues by 6 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago and by 5 percent compared to the full year 2014. Finally, Alaska Air announced a 38 percent increase in its quarterly dividend, from $0.20 per share to $0.275 per share. "These record results reflect our strong performance in the areas that drive long-term value for our business," said CEO Brad Tilden. "We're operating safely and on time, our customer satisfaction ratings remain strong, our customer base is growing at a record pace, and our costs and fares are coming down." "With today's announcement, our dividend has increased by 175% since we initiated it two and one-half years ago," Tilden also said. This increase underscores our confidence in our business and our commitment to return capital to shareholders.