Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. Acquires New Shares in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 3,252 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,316 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 2,858 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 19,147 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $866,000 after purchasing an additional 6,734 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 1,531,200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 15,313 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $692,000 after purchasing an additional 15,312 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,763 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,673,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In related news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.89, for a total transaction of $51,112.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,072.54. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 91,745 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.14, for a total transaction of $6,526,739.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,638 shares in the company, valued at $1,468,187.32. The trade was a 81.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 155,525 shares of company stock worth $11,268,375 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

ALK stock opened at $52.27 on Wednesday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.62 and a 12-month high of $78.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.50.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on ALK. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.54.

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.