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

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,580,000 shares, a drop of 32.6% from the December 15th total of 9,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In related news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 13,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total transaction of $888,458.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,638 shares in the company, valued at $1,321,038.38. The trade was a 40.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 4,000 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $252,360.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $767,300.58. This trade represents a 24.75 % decrease in their position. 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 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $82,459,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2,087.8% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 762,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,490,000 after buying an additional 728,019 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,390,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $64,300,000 after acquiring an additional 442,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 5.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 357,907 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.79.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ALK traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,531,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,725,969. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $59.24 and a 200-day moving average of $46.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.54. Alaska Air Group has a 12-month low of $32.62 and a 12-month high of $69.10.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

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.