GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 571 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 16.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,033 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 2,046.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 96,932 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,276,000 after purchasing an additional 92,416 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 19,229 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 21,772 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 97.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,623 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 77.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,221 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 2,284 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $51.01 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.62 and a fifty-two week high of $78.08.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) 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). Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.92) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 40.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.51, for a total transaction of $401,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,419,620.30. The trade was a 22.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Emily Halverson sold 2,946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.34, for a total value of $151,247.64. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $423,709.02. The trade was a 26.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,479 shares of company stock valued at $554,228 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ALK. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of 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. UBS Group cut Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $54.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on Alaska Air Group from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.83.

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.