Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Buys 215 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,180 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $262,789,000 after acquiring an additional 357,907 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,966,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $170,533,000 after buying an additional 155,403 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,969,295 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $119,960,000 after acquiring an additional 220,030 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,590,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,239,000 after buying an additional 122,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.6% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,063,379 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,715,000 after acquiring an additional 83,868 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of ALK stock opened at $51.84 on Tuesday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.00 and a 52-week high of $52.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.59. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $43.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.07.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Melius raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Melius Research raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.17.

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.