Insider Selling: Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) SVP Sells $218,376.50 in Stock

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) SVP Kyle B. Levine sold 3,439 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total transaction of $218,376.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,236,916.50. This represents a 15.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of ALK opened at $66.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.62 and a 12 month high of $66.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $262,789,000 after purchasing an additional 357,907 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 8.0% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,969,295 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $119,960,000 after buying an additional 220,030 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,061,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $93,229,000 after buying an additional 78,186 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,593,756 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,054,000 after buying an additional 6,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,590,078 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,239,000 after acquiring an additional 122,325 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ALK shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Melius upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.86.

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.