Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Purchases 2,092 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 16,092.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,105 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 2,092 shares during the quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,037,000 after purchasing an additional 265,343 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 5.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 165,979 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,504,000 after buying an additional 8,743 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group in the third quarter valued at $395,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the third quarter valued at about $230,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 66.5% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 11,392 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 4,550 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.90, for a total transaction of $654,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $677,976. This represents a 49.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total transaction of $134,175.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,286 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold 154,725 shares of company stock worth $11,217,263 over the last quarter. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Alaska Air Group Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of ALK stock opened at $44.39 on Friday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.62 and a 12-month high of $78.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.04 and a 200-day moving average of $57.80. The firm has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.37.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $87.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.23.

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.