Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Increases Stake in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,072 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,172 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $1,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 44.4% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,945 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 4,906 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 22,236 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $825,000 after acquiring an additional 7,094 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Alaska Air Group by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 19,600 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alaska Air Group by 280.0% in the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 67,548 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,505,000 after purchasing an additional 49,773 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.6% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 62,337 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ALK shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of 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 raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In other news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at $999,201.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of ALK opened at $43.81 on Friday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.75 and a 12 month high of $57.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $40.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a PE ratio of 23.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.63.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.62) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alaska Air Group Company 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.