Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Shares Bought by Plan Group Financial LLC

Plan Group Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,136 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Plan Group Financial LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $527,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,459,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2,087.8% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 762,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,490,000 after buying an additional 728,019 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,390,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,422,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,300,000 after buying an additional 442,331 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 32.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,037,000 after acquiring an additional 265,343 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ALK shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 91,745 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.14, for a total transaction of $6,526,739.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,638 shares in the company, valued at $1,468,187.32. The trade was a 81.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total transaction of $234,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,338,961. This represents a 14.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 160,441 shares of company stock valued at $11,247,722 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 0.5 %

Alaska Air Group stock opened at $75.36 on Wednesday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.62 and a 52 week high of $76.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $68.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.71.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. On average, analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico.