Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases 51,096 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 156.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,096 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $3,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $262,789,000 after acquiring an additional 357,907 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,966,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $170,533,000 after acquiring an additional 155,403 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,969,295 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $119,960,000 after acquiring an additional 220,030 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,593,756 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,054,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ALK. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Melius Research raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.69.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALK opened at $52.93 on Wednesday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.00 and a 1-year high of $54.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.74. The company has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.59.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 2.99%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. Alaska Air Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.