Blueshift Asset Management LLC Sells 142,887 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 90.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,880 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 142,887 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALK. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter valued at $82,459,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the third quarter worth $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 valued at $64,300,000 after purchasing an additional 442,331 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $24,241,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 32.4% during 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. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Susquehanna raised Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.54.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 3.1 %

NYSE:ALK opened at $53.96 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.62 and a 12 month high of $78.08. The company has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.80.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. Research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total transaction of $134,175.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,487,369.52. The trade was a 8.27 % 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 22,893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.74, for a total transaction of $1,733,915.82. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,414,061.02. The trade was a 41.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 154,725 shares of company stock valued at $11,217,263 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group 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.