Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys Shares of 72,000 Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 72,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,813,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.06% of Alaska Air Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALK. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 1st quarter worth $62,390,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 1st quarter worth $30,293,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,980,000. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,951,500 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $422,861,000 after purchasing an additional 660,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,425,916 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $147,109,000 after purchasing an additional 556,766 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

NYSE ALK opened at $40.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.63. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.75 and a fifty-two week high of $57.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.61.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The transportation company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 2.25%. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In related news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $249,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,201.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $41.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Melius lowered Alaska Air Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Susquehanna lowered Alaska Air Group from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Alaska Air Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.44.

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.