Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) CEO Joseph A. Sprague Sells 2,325 Shares

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 2,325 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.38, for a total transaction of $149,683.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,340 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,109.20. The trade was a 10.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

ALK opened at $64.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $52.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.62. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.62 and a fifty-two week high of $65.62. The firm has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALK. Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,066,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 633,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,312,000 after acquiring an additional 24,796 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,061,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $93,229,000 after purchasing an additional 78,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,058,564 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $47,857,000 after purchasing an additional 18,233 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALK has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Melius Research raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Melius raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.86.

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.