Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) SVP Sells $51,112.00 in Stock

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.89, for a total transaction of $51,112.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,072.54. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 4.1 %

Alaska Air Group stock traded up $2.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $64.97. The stock had a trading volume of 3,065,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,307,035. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $51.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.47. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.62 and a twelve month high of $65.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 2.99%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,271 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,938 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC now owns 5,354 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,770 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ALK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius Research upgraded Alaska Air Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.86.

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.

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