9,347 Shares in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Purchased by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,347 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $460,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,651,876 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $883,959,000 after acquiring an additional 56,409 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,225,054 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $403,076,000 after buying an additional 56,740 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 328.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,649,388 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $301,048,000 after purchasing an additional 3,564,749 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 134.0% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,134,221 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $138,191,000 after buying an additional 1,222,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,179,784 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $76,390,000 after acquiring an additional 121,220 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 7,500 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.51, for a total transaction of $401,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,419,620.30. This trade represents a 22.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Emily Halverson sold 2,946 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.34, for a total value of $151,247.64. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 8,253 shares in the company, valued at $423,709.02. This trade represents a 26.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,479 shares of company stock worth $554,228 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $53.17 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.62 and a 12 month high of $78.08. The company has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.41.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 40.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.92) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Alaska Air Group in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Alaska Air Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $95.00 to $55.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.83.

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.

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