Point72 Hong Kong Ltd Makes New Investment in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 23,740 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $959,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALK. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 1st quarter valued at $65,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the second quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $81,000. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. 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 note on Friday, September 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 4.7 %

Shares of ALK traded up $2.00 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $44.45. 3,512,899 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,267,318. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.59. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.75 and a 52 week high of $46.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.01.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.19. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.14%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.00 earnings per share. Alaska Air Group's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.62 EPS 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.