Ellis Investment Partners LLC Sells 4,366 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 9.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,974 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 4,366 shares during the period. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $1,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,651,876 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $883,959,000 after acquiring an additional 56,409 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 0.9% during the fourth 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 during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 328.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 6.9% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 134.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE ALK opened at $46.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.44. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.62 and a one year high of $78.08. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.77) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.72) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 15.01% and a net margin of 2.86%. The firm’s revenue was up 40.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.92) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ALK. UBS Group lowered Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective 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. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.51, for a total value of $401,325.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,419,620.30. This represents a 22.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Emily Halverson sold 2,946 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.34, for a total value of $151,247.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $423,709.02. This trade represents a 26.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,479 shares of company stock worth $554,228. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.