Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Position Lessened by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 280 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ALK. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,058,564 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $47,857,000 after purchasing an additional 18,233 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,385 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 906 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1,155.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 58,671 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,799,000 after purchasing an additional 53,997 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,105 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 7,500 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.51, for a total transaction of $401,325.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,419,620.30. This trade represents a 22.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup cut their price target on Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Alaska Air Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group cut Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $75.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Alaska Air Group from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.83.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of ALK stock opened at $50.73 on Friday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.62 and a 1 year high of $78.08. The stock has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $48.52 and its 200-day moving average is $58.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.05). Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.92) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.