Short Interest in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Drops By 7.7%

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) was the target of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,970,000 shares, a decline of 7.7% from the January 15th total of 6,470,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,720,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ALK shares. TD Cowen boosted 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. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.86.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of Alaska Air Group stock opened at $75.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.57 billion, a PE ratio of 24.71, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.55. Alaska Air Group has a 12 month low of $32.62 and a 12 month high of $76.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.71.

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

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other news, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total value of $252,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $767,300.58. The trade was a 24.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total value of $317,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,362 shares in the company, valued at $1,739,128.72. The trade was a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 160,441 shares of company stock valued at $11,247,722 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alaska Air Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,651,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $883,959,000 after purchasing an additional 56,409 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,225,054 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $403,076,000 after acquiring an additional 56,740 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 328.7% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,649,388 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $301,048,000 after acquiring an additional 3,564,749 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,460,959 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $224,121,000 after acquiring an additional 222,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 134.0% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,134,221 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $138,191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222,277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Company 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.