Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Short Interest Update

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ALK. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius Research upgraded 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. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.86.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of ALK stock opened at $64.75 on Thursday. Alaska Air Group has a 12 month low of $32.62 and a 12 month high of $67.73. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a PE ratio of 26.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.90 and a 200-day moving average of $45.22.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In related news, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 2,325 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.38, for a total transaction of $149,683.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,109.20. This trade represents a 10.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Emily Halverson sold 1,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $85,600.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $460,531.50. The trade was a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake 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 lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 6.0% in the third quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC now owns 5,354 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.