Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Shares Acquired by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 360.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 49,672 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,874 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $2,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $262,789,000 after acquiring an additional 357,907 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 8.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,969,295 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $119,960,000 after purchasing an additional 220,030 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,593,756 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,054,000 after purchasing an additional 6,977 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 8.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,590,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,239,000 after purchasing an additional 122,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,422,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,300,000 after purchasing an additional 442,331 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ALK shares. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Melius upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.69.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALK opened at $52.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.00 and a 1 year high of $54.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $47.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.00.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. Alaska Air Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.26 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.