Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) SVP Sells $218,376.50 in Stock

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) SVP Kyle B. Levine sold 3,439 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total transaction of $218,376.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,236,916.50. The trade was a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALK opened at $66.02 on Friday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.62 and a 1 year high of $66.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.62.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the second quarter worth $28,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 86.0% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 952.4% in the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,105 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the third quarter valued at about $52,000. 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.