Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Shares Bought by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $3,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,037,000 after buying an additional 265,343 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 54.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 57,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 20,347 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter worth about $772,000. Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 358.9% in the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 27,428 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 21,451 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 156.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 83,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,788,000 after purchasing an additional 51,096 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 4,000 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 24.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.56, for a total transaction of $317,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,362 shares in the company, valued at $1,739,128.72. This represents a 15.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 160,441 shares of company stock worth $11,247,722 in the last three months. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $73.74 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.55. The company has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.62 and a twelve month high of $76.45.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share 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, analysts expect 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 commented on ALK. TD Cowen upped their target price 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.