Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Shares Bought by Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP

Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) by 152.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,895 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,603 shares during the quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP's holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $1,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ALK. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 328.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,649,388 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $301,048,000 after buying an additional 3,564,749 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,459,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 4,615.3% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 943,064 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $61,063,000 after purchasing an additional 923,064 shares in the last quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,306,000. Finally, Interval Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,507,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on ALK shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group lowered shares of Alaska Air Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.83.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of ALK stock traded down $0.17 on Monday, reaching $53.48. 710,163 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,750,865. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $48.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.41. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.62 and a 1 year 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). The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 40.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.92) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.