Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,009 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALK. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 22.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,144 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the third quarter worth $86,270,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2,087.8% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 762,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,490,000 after acquiring an additional 728,019 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 165.7% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,444 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $879,000 after acquiring an additional 12,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ellis Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC now owns 44,928 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,031,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 7.2 %

Shares of ALK opened at $69.97 on Friday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.62 and a twelve month high of $78.08. The company has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.30.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. As a group, analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Alaska Air Group news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.89, for a total transaction of $51,112.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,072.54. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total transaction of $317,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,739,128.72. The trade was a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 182,598 shares of company stock valued at $12,912,156. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ALK. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.69.

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.