WINTON GROUP Ltd Has $8.35 Million Holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 148.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 128,939 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77,134 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $8,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parametrica Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,651,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $883,959,000 after acquiring an additional 56,409 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $434,000. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $867,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total value of $503,448.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,595,808.40. This trade represents a 16.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 22,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.12, for a total transaction of $1,664,433.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,504,353.12. The trade was a 52.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 154,725 shares of company stock valued at $11,217,263 in the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

NYSE ALK opened at $53.84 on Thursday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.62 and a 1 year high of $78.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.50.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Susquehanna upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Alaska Air Group from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.00.

About Alaska Air Group

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.