Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 638,651 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,753 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $24,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,447,347 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $127,828,000 after acquiring an additional 537,147 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 16.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,554,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $94,712,000 after purchasing an additional 358,749 shares in the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 1,387,734 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $54,219,000 after buying an additional 253,984 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,636,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 63.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 366,619 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,594,000 after buying an additional 142,310 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Melius downgraded Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.85.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE:ALK opened at $42.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.73. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.75 and a 1-year high of $57.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.63.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by $0.17. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.62) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $249,340.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,201.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.