Insider Selling: Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) SVP Sells 3,439 Shares of Stock

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) SVP Kyle B. Levine sold 3,439 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total value of $218,376.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,236,916.50. This trade represents a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of ALK traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $62.44. The stock had a trading volume of 3,368,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,303,922. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.62 and a fifty-two week high of $65.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.47.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 2.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.7% during the third 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. increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 4.7% in the third 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 during the period. Coastwise Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 6.0% in the third quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC now owns 5,354 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 3.7% in the third 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 period. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALK has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price 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. Two equities research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.86.

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.

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