Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) COO Muehlen Constance E. Von Sells 22,157 Shares

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 22,157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.12, for a total value of $1,664,433.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,504,353.12. This represents a 52.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $75.35 on Friday. 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 $9.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.55. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.04. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.62 and a 52 week high of $78.08.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays raised their price target on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. UBS Group raised their price target on Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.69.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,144 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Jade Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 337.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jade Capital Advisors LLC now owns 175,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,912,000 after buying an additional 135,000 shares during the last quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $356,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $86,270,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 2,087.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 762,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,490,000 after buying an additional 728,019 shares during the last quarter. 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.