Estate Counselors LLC Acquires Shares of 90,070 Alaska Air Group, Inc. $ALK

Key Points

• Estate Counselors LLC has invested approximately $4.43 million in Alaska Air Group, Inc., acquiring 90,070 shares, making it the company's 28th largest holding.
• During the fourth quarter, several large investors significantly increased their stakes in Alaska Air Group, with Point72 Asset Management raising its stake by 134% and Adage Capital Partners boosting its position by over 4,600%.
• Alaska Air Group reported earnings of $1.78 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and has raised its guidance for the upcoming quarters, indicating strong revenue growth compared to the previous year.

Estate Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 90,070 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $4,433,000. Alaska Air Group accounts for approximately 0.5% of Estate Counselors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Estate Counselors LLC owned about 0.07% of Alaska Air Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ALK. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in 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 worth $138,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222,277 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4,615.3% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 943,064 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $61,063,000 after buying an additional 923,064 shares in the last quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,306,000. Interval Partners LP purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,507,000. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,562,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 7,600 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.22, for a total value of $404,472.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,007,454.60. The trade was a 28.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.06, for a total value of $285,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 43,335 shares in the company, valued at $2,472,695.10. This trade represents a 10.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,460 shares of company stock worth $1,182,553 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.00.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

NYSE:ALK traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $60.02. 2,395,015 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,140,113. The company has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.45. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.07 and a 1 year high of $78.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.22. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 2.33%.The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. Alaska Air Group has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.400 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 3.250- EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.