Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 10,426 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. $ALK

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 54,197 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 10,426 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $2,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 1.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,266,619 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $161,632,000 after acquiring an additional 42,454 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 249.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,638,464 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $129,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882,598 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,215,697 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $109,657,000 after purchasing an additional 77,531 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 1,099,190 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $54,388,000 after purchasing an additional 74,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,062,712 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $52,307,000 after purchasing an additional 285,382 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ALK shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $90.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Susquehanna set a $58.00 price target on shares of Alaska Air Group and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.42.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $49.26 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.67. The stock has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.72, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.63 and a 12 month high of $78.08.

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