Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Trims Stock Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,586,779 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 16,161 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $64,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALK. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,993,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 238.8% in the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 869,045 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,954,000 after acquiring an additional 612,575 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 4,198.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 571,589 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $22,332,000 after acquiring an additional 558,291 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,434,000. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,475,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 0.5 %

ALK stock opened at $39.57 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.86. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.75 and a fifty-two week high of $46.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.59.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 11.85%. Alaska Air Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.00 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on ALK. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Susquehanna reduced 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 report on Tuesday, July 16th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

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.