Bailard Inc. Buys 1,472 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Bailard Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,449 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,472 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,461,295 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $536,225,000 after purchasing an additional 47,871 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 18.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,447,347 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $127,828,000 after purchasing an additional 537,147 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 16.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,554,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $94,712,000 after purchasing an additional 358,749 shares in the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 1,387,734 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $54,219,000 after purchasing an additional 253,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Alaska Air Group by 6.3% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,213,630 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $45,001,000 after purchasing an additional 71,726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ALK shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alaska Air Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.85.

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock opened at $43.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.75 and a 1 year high of $57.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.54. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.63.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by $0.17. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.62) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $249,340.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,201.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.