Picton Mahoney Asset Management Makes New Investment in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,390 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $405,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 1,676.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 149,089 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $58,250,000 after purchasing an additional 140,698 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,554,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $94,712,000 after acquiring an additional 358,749 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter valued at $2,813,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,213,630 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,001,000 after purchasing an additional 71,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 63.4% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 366,619 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,594,000 after purchasing an additional 142,310 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ALK. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $249,340.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $999,201.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of ALK stock opened at $43.31 on Thursday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.75 and a 12-month high of $57.18. The company has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $41.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

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

Alaska Air Group 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.