Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Position Lessened by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management decreased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,155,029 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 254,747 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 2.46% of Alaska Air Group worth $123,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALK. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,482 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 2,438 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 56,442 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,205,000 after acquiring an additional 10,857 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $707,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 523.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,948 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 32,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 638,651 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $24,952,000 after purchasing an additional 59,753 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALK has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group started coverage on Alaska Air Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.85.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

ALK traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $42.68. 1,858,545 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,413,781. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.85. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.75 and a fifty-two week high of $57.18. The company has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.60.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by $0.17. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 2.34%. Alaska Air Group’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.62) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $249,340.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,201.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.