Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $403.08 Million Stock Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,225,054 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,740 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 4.90% of Alaska Air Group worth $403,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,058,564 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $47,857,000 after buying an additional 18,233 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 633,514 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,312,000 after acquiring an additional 24,796 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,066,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,462 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 9,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total value of $654,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,840 shares in the company, valued at $677,976. The trade was a 49.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total value of $134,175.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,487,369.52. This represents a 8.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 154,725 shares of company stock valued at $11,217,263. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

NYSE ALK opened at $45.08 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $57.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.91. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.62 and a 1 year high of $78.08.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $83.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $80.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $95.00 to $55.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.15.

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.