Natixis Advisors L.P. Takes Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Natixis Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,118 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $707,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 18,189 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 17.5% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,885 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 63.4% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,297 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.1% in the third quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 6,650 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ALK. Bank of America lifted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised Alaska Air Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Alaska Air Group in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Alaska Air Group from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.60.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,686,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,788,397. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.75 and a twelve month high of $57.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 23.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.17. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.62) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

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.