Altshuler Shaham Ltd Makes New $28,000 Investment in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 683 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 1st quarter worth about $36,993,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 238.8% in the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 869,045 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $33,954,000 after purchasing an additional 612,575 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4,198.3% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 571,589 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $22,332,000 after buying an additional 558,291 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $262,789,000 after buying an additional 357,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $13,434,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock opened at $40.02 on Monday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a one year low of $30.75 and a one year high of $46.15. The company has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.59. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.92.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 11.85%. Alaska Air Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.00 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.