Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 637,727 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 27,844 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of Alaska Air Group worth $25,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Halpern Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the second quarter worth $81,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 17.1% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ALK. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. 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 report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup cut their price target on Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $51.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.00.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of ALK opened at $36.11 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.80. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.75 and a 12 month high of $46.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.19. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.14%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.00 earnings per share. Alaska Air Group’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.