Swiss National Bank Sells 8,000 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 10.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 8,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.05% of Alaska Air Group worth $2,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 416.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 568 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 174.4% in the fourth quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter worth $73,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 19.9% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,811 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 80.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.50 to $64.25 in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Monday, June 26th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $91.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.03.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

ALK stock opened at $41.78 on Monday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.19 and a 52 week high of $57.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.55.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The transportation company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 1.55% and a return on equity of 19.66%. Alaska Air Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.19 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other news, CEO Benito Minicucci sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.73, for a total value of $243,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 114,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,579,877.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operated airlines. The company operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing and Airbus jet aircraft for passengers and cargo throughout the United States, and in parts of Mexico, Costa Rica, and Belize; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States and Canada.