Cetera Investment Advisers Trims Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Cetera Investment Advisers decreased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 44,262 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 3,508 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $1,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 145.4% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 27,003 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 23.1% during the first quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 62,868 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,703,000 after purchasing an additional 11,796 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 17.1% during the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Executive Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 200.0% during the first quarter. Executive Wealth Group LLC now owns 41,913 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,802,000 after purchasing an additional 27,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 97.3% in the first quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ALK shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.60.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock opened at $44.68 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.42. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.75 and a 1 year high of $46.15. The firm has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.19. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.14% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.