Friedenthal Financial Takes $772,000 Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,920 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $772,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,037,000 after purchasing an additional 265,343 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 54.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 57,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 20,347 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 358.9% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 27,428 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,240,000 after buying an additional 21,451 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 156.3% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 83,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,788,000 after buying an additional 51,096 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 633,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,312,000 after buying an additional 24,796 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Melius upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Melius Research raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.14.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALK traded down $1.76 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $66.42. The stock had a trading volume of 2,708,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,600,460. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $58.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.44. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.62 and a fifty-two week high of $69.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. 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.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alaska Air Group news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.89, for a total transaction of $51,112.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,072.54. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Emily Halverson sold 1,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $85,600.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,531.50. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,473 shares of company stock worth $2,198,342 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.