Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,760,000 shares, an increase of 6.6% from the November 30th total of 9,160,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 13,880 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total transaction of $888,458.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,638 shares in the company, valued at $1,321,038.38. This trade represents a 40.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.89, for a total transaction of $51,112.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,072.54. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,473 shares of company stock worth $2,198,342. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALK. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,016,106 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $41,051,000 after purchasing an additional 8,423 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,063 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the second quarter worth $501,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group during the second quarter worth $574,000. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Melius Research raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.86.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 0.2 %

ALK traded down $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.75. 1,444,041 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,330,771. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $55.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.22 billion, a PE ratio of 26.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. Alaska Air Group has a fifty-two week low of $32.62 and a fifty-two week high of $67.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60.

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

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.