Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Shares Acquired by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK – Get Rating) by 86.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,438 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,438 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ALK. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 56,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,930,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.8% in the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 4,505 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 10.4% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,495 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 20.3% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 1,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.1% in the first quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 5,122 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. 72.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on ALK shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 27th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $61.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 12th. Susquehanna Bancshares reduced their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $68.00 to $50.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 12th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $75.00 to $58.00 in a report on Thursday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $97.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 2,267 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.13, for a total transaction of $100,042.71. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $624,527.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.97, for a total value of $93,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 9,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $468,103.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 2,267 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.13, for a total value of $100,042.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $624,527.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $46.30 on Thursday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.19 and a twelve month high of $63.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.93.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 21st. The transportation company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.54% and a return on equity of 8.97%. Alaska Air Group’s revenue was up 74.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.30) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alaska Air Group Profile

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Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides passenger and cargo air transportation services. The company operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. It flies to approximately 120 destinations throughout North America. Alaska Air Group, Inc was founded in 1932 and is based in Seattle, Washington.