Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Shares Sold by Oak Thistle LLC

Oak Thistle LLC cut its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,025 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,003 shares during the quarter. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $261,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2,087.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 762,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,490,000 after buying an additional 728,019 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,390,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 45.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,422,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,300,000 after acquiring an additional 442,331 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 32.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,037,000 after purchasing an additional 265,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.0% in 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 last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ALK. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Melius upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Susquehanna raised Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.57.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other news, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $252,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $767,300.58. This trade represents a 24.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total transaction of $317,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,739,128.72. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,473 shares of company stock worth $2,198,342. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of ALK opened at $66.35 on Friday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.62 and a fifty-two week high of $69.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.28. The firm has a market cap of $8.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 2.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current 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.