SG Americas Securities LLC Boosts Stock Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) by 707.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 474,005 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 415,334 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.39% of Alaska Air Group worth $23,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $883,959,000 after buying an additional 56,409 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,225,054 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $403,076,000 after acquiring an additional 56,740 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 328.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,649,388 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $301,048,000 after acquiring an additional 3,564,749 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,460,959 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $224,121,000 after purchasing an additional 222,780 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 134.0% during 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 period. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ALK. UBS Group lowered Alaska Air Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 4.5%

NYSE:ALK traded down $2.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,046,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,847,223. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.62 and a 1 year high of $78.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.81 and a 200-day moving average of $58.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.44.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 3.37%. The company's revenue was up 40.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.92) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current 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.