Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Has $542,000 Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. $ALK

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 112.5% in Q2, owning 10,960 shares valued at $542,000.
• Goldman Sachs significantly raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 249.1%, now owning approximately 2.6 million shares valued at $129.9 million.
• Analysts have varying outlooks on the stock, with new price targets ranging from $60 to $96, and the consensus rating remains a "Moderate Buy."

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) by 112.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,960 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,803 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 249.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,638,464 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $129,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882,598 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2,880.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 624,035 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $30,877,000 after buying an additional 603,097 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 630.3% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 442,038 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $21,757,000 after buying an additional 381,509 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 20.2% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,910,364 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $94,028,000 after buying an additional 321,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lodge Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 1st quarter worth about $15,006,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $73.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Raymond James Financial set a $68.00 target price on shares of Alaska Air Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Alaska Air Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.06, for a total value of $285,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 43,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,472,695.10. The trade was a 10.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kyle B. Levine sold 5,914 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.75, for a total value of $341,533.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 20,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,207,956.75. This represents a 22.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,514 shares of company stock worth $1,031,306. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

NYSE:ALK opened at $49.41 on Wednesday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.79 and a 52 week high of $78.08. The firm has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $56.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.77. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 12.62%. Alaska Air Group's revenue for the quarter was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. Alaska Air Group has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.400 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 3.250- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ALK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.