Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Short Interest Update

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,850,000 shares, a drop of 24.1% from the February 28th total of 6,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.00.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total transaction of $503,448.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,030 shares in the company, valued at $2,595,808.40. This trade represents a 16.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 22,893 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.74, for a total value of $1,733,915.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,873 shares in the company, valued at $2,414,061.02. The trade was a 41.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 154,725 shares of company stock worth $11,217,263. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 32.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,037,000 after buying an additional 265,343 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 54.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 57,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 20,347 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter worth $772,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 633,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,312,000 after purchasing an additional 24,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Alaska Air Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of ALK traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $49.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,980,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,537,058. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Alaska Air Group has a one year low of $32.62 and a one year high of $78.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.79.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 3.37%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Alaska Air Group

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.