U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 70,065 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 2,517 shares during the quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $2,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 10,482 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 2,438 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 56,442 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,205,000 after buying an additional 10,857 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $707,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 523.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,948 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after buying an additional 32,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 638,651 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $24,952,000 after purchasing an additional 59,753 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $249,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $999,201.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $44.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.85.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ALK traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $42.68. 1,858,545 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,413,781. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.60. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.75 and a 52-week high of $57.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.83 and its 200-day moving average is $37.87.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 2.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.62) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.68 EPS for the current year.

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.