Insider Selling: Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) EVP Sells $503,448.00 in Stock

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total transaction of $503,448.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,595,808.40. This represents a 16.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of ALK opened at $72.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $69.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.22. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.62 and a twelve month high of $78.08.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. As a group, research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ALK. Barclays increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna raised Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.69.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALK. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 328.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,649,388 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $301,048,000 after acquiring an additional 3,564,749 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,459,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 134.0% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,134,221 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $138,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222,277 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4,615.3% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 943,064 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $61,063,000 after purchasing an additional 923,064 shares during the period. Finally, Candlestick Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter worth $51,306,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

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.