Truxt Investmentos Ltda. Buys Shares of 44,813 Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Truxt Investmentos Ltda. purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 44,813 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,907,000. Alaska Air Group accounts for approximately 4.7% of Truxt Investmentos Ltda.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sunpointe LLC purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $686,000. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 227.7% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 65,967 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,271,000 after acquiring an additional 45,836 shares in the last quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 8,136 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 627,685 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,643,000 after acquiring an additional 20,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 110.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP now owns 3,118 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $76.65 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $68.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.88. The stock has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a PE ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.55. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.62 and a 52-week high of $78.08.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 13,880 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.01, for a total transaction of $888,458.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,321,038.38. This trade represents a 40.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 2,325 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.38, for a total value of $149,683.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,340 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,109.20. This trade represents a 10.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 182,598 shares of company stock valued at $12,912,156. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ALK. UBS Group upped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Melius raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.86.

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.