Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Takes Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 3,300 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter worth about $82,459,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2,087.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 762,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,490,000 after buying an additional 728,019 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,390,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 45.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,422,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,300,000 after acquiring an additional 442,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew 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 worth $49,037,000 after purchasing an additional 265,343 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ALK. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Melius upgraded 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. UBS Group increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, 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 research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total transaction of $252,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 12,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $767,300.58. This represents a 24.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Emily Halverson sold 1,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.41, for a total value of $85,600.89. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,150 shares in the company, valued at $460,531.50. This trade represents a 15.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,473 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,342. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock opened at $66.35 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $60.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.56. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.62 and a 52-week high of $69.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.54. 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 (NYSE:ALK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.37 EPS for the current 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.