Alaska Air Group, Inc. $ALK Shares Sold by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 39.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,058 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 12,363 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. MAI Capital Management increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 80.5% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 628 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the second quarter worth $61,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 85.3% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,308 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2,162.3% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,380 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on ALK shares. UBS Group set a $77.00 price target on Alaska Air Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Susquehanna set a $58.00 target price on Alaska Air Group and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $73.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.73.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of ALK opened at $50.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $45.45 and a 200-day moving average of $50.73. The company has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.52. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.63 and a 1 year high of $78.08.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.11 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 8.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

About Alaska Air Group

Alaska Air Group is a publicly traded holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, that operates two main airlines—Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. Through these carriers, the company offers scheduled passenger and cargo services across a network spanning the United States, Canada and Mexico. Its core business activities include domestic and international air transportation, loyalty program management under the Mileage Plan brand, and ancillary revenue streams such as baggage fees, in-flight sales and code-share partnerships with other global airlines.

The roots of Alaska Air Group trace back to the foundation of its flagship carrier, Alaska Airlines, in 1932.