Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,850,000 shares, a decline of 24.1% from the February 28th total of 6,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 4.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Alaska Air Group stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $49.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,980,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,537,058. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61. Alaska Air Group has a 12 month low of $32.62 and a 12 month high of $78.08. The company has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.50.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 3.37%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total value of $134,175.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,487,369.52. This represents a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total value of $654,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $677,976. This trade represents a 49.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 154,725 shares of company stock worth $11,217,263 in the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,037,000 after acquiring an additional 265,343 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 54.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 57,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,591,000 after buying an additional 20,347 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $772,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 633,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,312,000 after buying an additional 24,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ALK. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Alaska Air Group from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.00.

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.