Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Short Interest Update

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) saw a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,850,000 shares, a drop of 24.1% from the February 28th total of 6,390,000 shares. Approximately 4.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ALK. Bank of America boosted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Susquehanna raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.00.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $49.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $65.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.79. Alaska Air Group has a one year low of $32.62 and a one year high of $78.08.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 9,500 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total value of $654,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $677,976. This represents a 49.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 154,725 shares of company stock valued at $11,217,263 in the last ninety days. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 328.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,649,388 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $301,048,000 after buying an additional 3,564,749 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter valued at $82,459,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 134.0% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,134,221 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $138,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222,277 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4,615.3% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 943,064 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $61,063,000 after purchasing an additional 923,064 shares during the period. Finally, Candlestick Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,306,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.