Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Shares Sold by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Alaska Air Group by 70.4%, selling 15,443 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 6,492 shares worth $320,000.
• Major brokerages have increased their price targets for Alaska Air Group, with Barclays raising it to $60 and TD Cowen to $62, reflecting a generally bullish sentiment towards the stock.
• Recent insider transactions included EVP Andrew R. Harrison selling 7,600 shares at an average price of $53.22, indicating a significant decrease in their ownership stake.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC cut its stake in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) by 70.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,492 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 15,443 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ALK. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,235,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 416.3% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 30,499 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,501,000 after buying an additional 24,592 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,160 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,238,000 after buying an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group during the first quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 8.9% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 971,938 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $47,839,000 after purchasing an additional 79,099 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Emily Halverson sold 2,946 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.34, for a total value of $151,247.64. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $423,709.02. This represents a 26.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $404,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,930 shares in the company, valued at $1,007,454.60. The trade was a 28.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,046 shares of company stock valued at $957,045 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ALK. UBS Group increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Susquehanna increased their target price 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 increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.83.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 9.9%

Shares of ALK traded up $5.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $56.18. 3,270,076 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,620,540. The firm has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.73. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.44 and a 52-week high of $78.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.78 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.55 earnings per share. Alaska Air Group's revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.