Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 59,753 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 638,651 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 59,753 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.50% of Alaska Air Group worth $24,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.5% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,663 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,847 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,868 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 18,189 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $674,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 15.1% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,003 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $249,340.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at $999,201.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on ALK shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Melius downgraded Alaska Air Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Alaska Air Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.85.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of ALK stock traded up $0.49 during trading on Thursday, reaching $42.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,992,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,461,417. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $40.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.76. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a one year low of $30.75 and a one year high of $57.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.60.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.17. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.62) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current year.

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.