Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Has $344,000 Stock Holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,796 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 1,676.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 149,089 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $58,250,000 after acquiring an additional 140,698 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,554,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $94,712,000 after acquiring an additional 358,749 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,813,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,213,630 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,001,000 after acquiring an additional 71,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 63.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 366,619 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,594,000 after acquiring an additional 142,310 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 1.0 %

ALK opened at $45.09 on Wednesday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.75 and a 1-year high of $57.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.63.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.17. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 2.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.62) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Alaska Air Group in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised Alaska Air Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Melius downgraded Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $249,340.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,201.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

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.