Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 862 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 18.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,703 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 862 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its position 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 valued at $11,457,000 after buying an additional 33,717 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 358.9% during the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 27,428 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 21,451 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 88.0% in the 1st 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 during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 32,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 8.0% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,969,295 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $119,960,000 after buying an additional 220,030 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ALK shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Alaska Air Group from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.69.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALK opened at $52.60 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $47.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.59. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.00 and a one year high of $54.14.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.26 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.