Bank of Montreal Can Grows Stake in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 54.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 57,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,347 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $2,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 360.0% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 49,672 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 38,874 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 45.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,422,247 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $64,300,000 after acquiring an additional 442,331 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,593,756 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,054,000 after acquiring an additional 6,977 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.9% during the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 339,151 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $15,333,000 after acquiring an additional 18,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the third quarter worth about $4,673,000. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of ALK stock opened at $54.41 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $48.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.12. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $32.62 and a 52 week high of $54.66. The company has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.60.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ALK. Citigroup dropped their target price on Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued 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 objective on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Melius Research raised Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.08.

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.