Insider Selling: Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) EVP Sells 6,600 Shares of Stock

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total transaction of $503,448.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,595,808.40. This represents a 16.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of ALK opened at $72.36 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.84. The company has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.62 and a 1-year high of $78.08.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ALK shares. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.69.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 32.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,037,000 after acquiring an additional 265,343 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 54.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 57,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 20,347 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $772,000. Entropy Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 358.9% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 27,428 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 21,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 156.3% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 83,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,788,000 after acquiring an additional 51,096 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.