Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) COO Sells $1,664,433.84 in Stock

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 22,157 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,504,353.12. This trade represents a 52.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock opened at $69.97 on Friday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.62 and a 52-week high of $78.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $69.26 and a 200-day moving average of $53.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. FMR LLC raised 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 buying an additional 3,564,749 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter valued at $82,459,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 134.0% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,134,221 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $138,191,000 after buying an additional 1,222,277 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 4,615.3% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 923,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candlestick Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter valued at $51,306,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ALK. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.69.

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.