Clearbridge Investments LLC Buys 77,633 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 979,511 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 77,633 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $38,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 18,189 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 63.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,297 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,003 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,791 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $956,000 after acquiring an additional 3,141 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 160,682 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,958,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $249,340.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at $999,201.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate 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 $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of 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. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.60.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of ALK opened at $43.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.65. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.75 and a twelve month high of $57.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.93. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.60.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.17. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.62) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.68 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.