Heartland Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Heartland Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 49.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 108,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 104,350 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Alaska Air Group worth $6,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 49,905 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,231,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 29,816 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,931,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,284 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 19,229 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,600 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total value of $503,448.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,595,808.40. The trade was a 16.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total transaction of $134,175.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,487,369.52. This represents a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 154,725 shares of company stock worth $11,217,263 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Alaska Air Group from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America upped their target price on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.00.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of ALK opened at $50.16 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $66.07 and a 200-day moving average of $57.43. The company has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.62 and a 1 year high of $78.08.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Alaska Air Group Profile

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.