Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,061,596 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 78,186 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.62% of Alaska Air Group worth $93,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ALK. Barclays PLC raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,058,564 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $47,857,000 after acquiring an additional 18,233 shares during the period. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 39.7% in the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 16,907 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $764,000 after purchasing an additional 4,807 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Alaska Air Group during the third quarter valued at $26,390,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the third quarter worth $319,000. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company's stock.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

ALK traded up $1.05 on Friday, reaching $66.02. The company had a trading volume of 7,045,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,326,302. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.62 and a 52-week high of $66.81. The company has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.62.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total value of $317,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,739,128.72. The trade was a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Emily Halverson sold 1,329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $85,600.89. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $460,531.50. This represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,473 shares of company stock worth $2,198,342. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ALK. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.86.

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.