Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Shares Purchased by Evergreen Capital Management LLC

Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,509 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter worth $6,151,000. Mariner LLC increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 14,295 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,179,784 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $76,390,000 after purchasing an additional 121,220 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 7,496 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 55,170 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,572,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $45.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.62 and a fifty-two week high of $78.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $57.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.82. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.37.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 3.37%. Sell-side analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALK has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $80.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group cut shares of Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $95.00 to $55.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 22,893 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 owns 31,873 shares in the company, valued at $2,414,061.02. This represents a 41.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 9,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total value of $654,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $677,976. This represents a 49.12 % 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 ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% 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.