Benjamin Edwards Inc. Takes $230,000 Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,096 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2,087.8% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 762,889 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,490,000 after acquiring an additional 728,019 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Alaska Air Group by 45.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 442,331 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 5.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,504,583 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $262,789,000 after purchasing an additional 357,907 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the second quarter valued at $11,475,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 32.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,037,000 after buying an additional 265,343 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

ALK opened at $61.32 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.57. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.60. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.62 and a 12 month high of $63.90.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Alaska Air Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ALK. Melius upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.