Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Shares Bought by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 157,567 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,133 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Alaska Air Group worth $10,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,651,876 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $883,959,000 after purchasing an additional 56,409 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 0.9% during 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 328.7% during the 4th 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 period. Boston Partners grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,460,959 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $224,121,000 after acquiring an additional 222,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,432,052 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $92,725,000 after purchasing an additional 9,805 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ALK. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of 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 price objective for the company from $75.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on 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. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Alaska Air Group from $95.00 to $55.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.92.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 2.2%

Alaska Air Group stock traded down $1.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $52.97. The company had a trading volume of 2,781,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,742,822. The business has a fifty day moving average of $48.77 and a 200 day moving average of $58.20. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.62 and a 1 year high of $78.08. 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 stock has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.41.

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 firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 40.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.92) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 22,157 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.12, for a total value of $1,664,433.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,026 shares in the company, valued at $1,504,353.12. The trade was a 52.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total value of $503,448.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,595,808.40. This represents a 16.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,790 shares of company stock worth $2,169,537 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.