Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Sells 35,492 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 758,647 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 35,492 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned 0.60% of Alaska Air Group worth $34,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 357,907 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,966,594 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $170,533,000 after purchasing an additional 155,403 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,969,295 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $119,960,000 after purchasing an additional 220,030 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,590,078 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $64,239,000 after purchasing an additional 122,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,063,379 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $45,715,000 after purchasing an additional 83,868 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ALK. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Melius Research upgraded 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. Melius upgraded 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 upped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.17.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 1.9 %

Alaska Air Group stock traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $51.98. 651,851 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,266,437. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.59. The firm's 50 day moving average is $43.61 and its 200-day moving average is $41.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.00 and a fifty-two week high of $52.19.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 for 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%. Alaska Air Group's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current 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.