First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Buys 267 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,938 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $268,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ALK. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 4.7% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,029 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 11,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,063 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 63,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,717,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 13.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,403 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ALK shares. Melius Research upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Melius upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.17.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ALK opened at $47.23 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.59. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.00 and a 12-month high of $50.16.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 13.10% and a net margin of 2.99%. The business had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Alaska Air Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate 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.