Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Shares Purchased by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 535,600 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 28,224 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned approximately 0.42% of Alaska Air Group worth $34,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 3,564,749 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,459,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter worth $24,241,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter worth about $19,847,000. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,460,959 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $224,121,000 after buying an additional 222,780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total transaction of $134,175.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,487,369.52. This represents a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 22,893 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.74, for a total value of $1,733,915.82. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,414,061.02. This represents a 41.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,480 shares of company stock valued at $4,035,973. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut Alaska Air Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $75.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $95.00 to $55.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.92.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock traded up $0.66 on Tuesday, hitting $43.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,195,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,647,413. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $53.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.04. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.62 and a one 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 $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.37.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.92) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

About Alaska Air Group

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.