Freestone Grove Partners LP Takes $4.44 Million Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 68,538 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,438,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 49,905 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,231,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 29,816 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,931,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,284 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 19,229 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $95.00 to $55.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group downgraded Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.92.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of ALK opened at $46.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.24 and a 200-day moving average of $57.85. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.62 and a one year high of $78.08. 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 (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 3.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.92) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,600 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,030 shares in the company, valued at $2,595,808.40. The trade was a 16.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 22,893 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,873 shares in the company, valued at $2,414,061.02. The trade was a 41.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 51,650 shares of company stock valued at $3,901,798. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.