Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,316 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 2,858 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $1,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 13.5% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 283,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,457,000 after acquiring an additional 33,717 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,966,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $170,533,000 after purchasing an additional 155,403 shares during the period. Comerica Bank boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 88.0% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 174,178 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,488,000 after purchasing an additional 81,533 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 358.9% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 27,428 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 21,451 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 211.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 47,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after buying an additional 32,442 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Alaska Air Group from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.69.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

ALK stock opened at $52.93 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.60. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.00 and a 52 week high of $54.14. The stock has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.59.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.