Freestone Grove Partners LP Makes New Investment in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 68,538 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $4,438,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned approximately 0.05% of Alaska Air Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,058,564 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $47,857,000 after buying an additional 18,233 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 633,514 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,312,000 after acquiring an additional 24,796 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,066,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,462 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total transaction of $503,448.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,030 shares in the company, valued at $2,595,808.40. The trade was a 16.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 22,157 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.12, for a total transaction of $1,664,433.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,504,353.12. The trade was a 52.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,650 shares of company stock valued at $3,901,798 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 6.3 %

Shares of NYSE ALK traded up $3.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $53.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,251,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,706,528. The company has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business's 50 day moving average is $49.91 and its 200-day moving average is $57.93. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.62 and a 52 week high of $78.08.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ALK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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 report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group cut Alaska Air Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $75.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.92.

Alaska Air Group Company 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.