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

Guidance Capital Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,344 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,278 shares during the quarter. Guidance Capital Inc.’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,061,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $93,229,000 after purchasing an additional 78,186 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,593,756 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,054,000 after buying an additional 6,977 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 45.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,422,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,300,000 after buying an additional 442,331 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,459,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 32.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,037,000 after acquiring an additional 265,343 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays increased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total transaction of $134,175.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,487,369.52. The trade was a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $252,360.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at $767,300.58. This represents a 24.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,548 shares of company stock worth $9,513,807 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $75.56 on Wednesday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.62 and a fifty-two week high of $75.98. The company has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.13.

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