Joseph A. Sprague Sells 2,325 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Stock

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 2,325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.38, for a total transaction of $149,683.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,109.20. The trade was a 10.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of ALK traded up $2.53 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $64.97. 3,065,366 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,307,035. The company has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.62 and a 52 week high of $65.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $51.73 and its 200-day moving average is $43.47.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Melius Research raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.86.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 32.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,037,000 after buying an additional 265,343 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 54.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 57,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 20,347 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 283,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,457,000 after acquiring an additional 33,717 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 358.9% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 27,428 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 21,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 156.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 83,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,788,000 after purchasing an additional 51,096 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

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.