3,300 Shares in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Acquired by Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,385 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,459,000. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter worth $251,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter worth $772,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on ALK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna raised Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Melius raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, 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 note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.57.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 1.6 %

ALK stock opened at $66.35 on Tuesday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.62 and a 1-year high of $69.10. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.54.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. Alaska Air Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 2,325 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.38, for a total value of $149,683.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,109.20. This trade represents a 10.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 13,880 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total transaction of $888,458.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,638 shares in the company, valued at $1,321,038.38. This trade represents a 40.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.