Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Shares Sold by Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. trimmed its position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 7.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,347 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,834 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $1,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,938 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 11,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 5.8% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,063 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 63,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,717,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ALK shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Melius raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.17.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 6.3 %

NYSE:ALK opened at $51.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.00 and a 1 year high of $51.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.89.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.