Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 8,734 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 33.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,057 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 8,734 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 1st quarter valued at $62,390,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 1st quarter valued at $30,293,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter valued at $30,980,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,951,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $422,861,000 after buying an additional 660,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,425,916 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $147,109,000 after buying an additional 556,766 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of ALK stock opened at $40.80 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.75 and a twelve month high of $57.18. The company has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.08.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The transportation company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.12. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 2.25%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. Alaska Air Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $44.00 to $51.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Susquehanna lowered Alaska Air Group from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $39.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $41.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Melius lowered Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $249,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at $999,201.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

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.