Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. $ALK

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. dramatically increased its stake in Alaska Air Group, boosting its holdings by 19,661.8% to 1.24 million shares worth about $62.2 million in the fourth quarter.
• Other large institutional investors also added to positions, and hedge funds and institutions now own 81.90% of Alaska Air Group’s stock.
• Alaska Air Group reported a quarterly EPS loss of -$1.68, missing estimates, while revenue came in at $3.30 billion; meanwhile, analysts still have a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $61.85.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) by 19,661.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,235,901 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 1,229,647 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 1.07% of Alaska Air Group worth $62,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,059,404 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $556,288,000 after buying an additional 110,628 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,273,084 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $312,280,000 after buying an additional 56,225 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,962,620 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $149,020,000 after buying an additional 588,119 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 10.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,456,129 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $71,809,000 after buying an additional 134,141 shares during the period. Finally, Par Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.1% during the second quarter. Par Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,119,302 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $55,383,000 after buying an additional 43,726 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.63, for a total transaction of $311,465.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,745,789.64. The trade was a 15.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 24,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.15, for a total value of $1,371,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 43,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,478,995.55. This trade represents a 35.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALK opened at $36.96 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.73 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.03 and a 52 week high of $65.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.58.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 20th. The transportation company reported ($1.68) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.61) by ($0.07). Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 0.51% and a return on equity of 4.96%. The business had revenue of $3.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.77) EPS. Alaska Air Group's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Alaska Air Group has set its Q2 2026 guidance at -1.000--1.000 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post -1.04 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ALK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $42.50 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Evercore set a $60.00 price objective on Alaska Air Group in a research report on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $54.00 price objective (up from $53.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.85.

Alaska Air Group Profile

Alaska Air Group is a publicly traded holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, that operates two main airlines—Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. Through these carriers, the company offers scheduled passenger and cargo services across a network spanning the United States, Canada and Mexico. Its core business activities include domestic and international air transportation, loyalty program management under the Mileage Plan brand, and ancillary revenue streams such as baggage fees, in-flight sales and code-share partnerships with other global airlines.

The roots of Alaska Air Group trace back to the foundation of its flagship carrier, Alaska Airlines, in 1932.

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