Atria Investments Inc Acquires New Shares in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 3,473 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 313.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 117,050 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,579,000 after purchasing an additional 88,734 shares during the period. Jag Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 74,398 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,817,000 after buying an additional 1,128 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,432,052 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $92,725,000 after buying an additional 9,805 shares during the period. Sage Rhino Capital LLC lifted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of ALK opened at $52.27 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.82. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.62 and a 1-year high of $78.08. The company has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.50.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. On average, research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup cut their target price on Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Susquehanna raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 91,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.14, for a total transaction of $6,526,739.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,468,187.32. This trade represents a 81.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 800 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.89, for a total transaction of $51,112.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,072.54. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 155,525 shares of company stock valued at $11,268,375 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Alaska Air Group

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.