Emily Halverson Sells 1,329 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Stock

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) VP Emily Halverson sold 1,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total transaction of $85,600.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,531.50. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock traded up $2.53 during trading on Thursday, reaching $64.97. 3,065,366 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,307,035. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.62 and a 1-year high of $65.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALK. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.2% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.7% in 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. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 6.0% during the third quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC now owns 5,354 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 3.7% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.