Friedenthal Financial Takes $772,000 Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,920 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $772,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ALK. TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,454,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the second quarter worth approximately $281,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 122,325 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 5.8% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 27,385 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 2.6 %

ALK stock traded down $1.76 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $66.42. 2,708,728 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,600,460. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $58.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.44. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.62 and a 52 week high of $69.10. The company has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.54.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Melius raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Susquehanna raised Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.14.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total value of $317,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,739,128.72. This represents a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 800 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.89, for a total value of $51,112.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,072.54. This trade represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342 over the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently 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.