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

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,010,000 shares, a decrease of 9.4% from the August 15th total of 9,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ALK. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALK. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $65,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group during the second quarter worth about $69,000. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

ALK stock traded down $1.23 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.75. 3,442,181 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,240,875. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.86. Alaska Air Group has a 52-week low of $30.75 and a 52-week high of $46.15. The company has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.59.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.00 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Alaska Air Group will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.