Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $57.10 Million Holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 8.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,160,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 113,400 shares during the quarter. Alaska Air Group accounts for approximately 1.9% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $57,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 49,905 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,231,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 29,816 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,931,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.4% during the 4th 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. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 19,229 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plan Group Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 8,136 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In related news, VP Emily Halverson sold 2,946 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.34, for a total transaction of $151,247.64. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $423,709.02. This trade represents a 26.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 7,500 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.51, for a total transaction of $401,325.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,419,620.30. The trade was a 22.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,479 shares of company stock worth $554,228 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ALK. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.83.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 4.5%

Shares of NYSE:ALK opened at $47.40 on Friday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.62 and a one year high of $78.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.81 and a 200-day moving average of $58.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.44.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.05). Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 3.37%. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.92) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 40.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Alaska Air Group Company 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.