Guidance Capital Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Guidance Capital Inc. reduced its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,622 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,350 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc.’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALK. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $262,789,000 after purchasing an additional 357,907 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,966,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $170,533,000 after purchasing an additional 155,403 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.0% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,969,295 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $119,960,000 after purchasing an additional 220,030 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,590,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,239,000 after purchasing an additional 122,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.6% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,063,379 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,715,000 after purchasing an additional 83,868 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ALK. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays started coverage on Alaska Air Group in a report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.80.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

ALK stock traded down $0.31 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $45.67. The company had a trading volume of 206,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,265,713. The firm has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.60. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.75 and a 1-year high of $46.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

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.