11,920 Shares in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Purchased by Friedenthal Financial

Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,920 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $772,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALK. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 86.0% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 952.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,105 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 4,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 12,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $767,300.58. This represents a 24.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 2,325 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.38, for a total transaction of $149,683.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,340 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,245,109.20. The trade was a 10.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,473 shares of company stock worth $2,198,342. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock traded down $1.76 during trading on Monday, reaching $66.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,958,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,767,206. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $58.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.62. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.62 and a 12-month high of $69.10. The company has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ALK. Barclays boosted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Melius upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $56.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Melius Research raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $56.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Alaska Air Group from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.14.

Alaska Air Group 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.