Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Boosts Stock Holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) by 158.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,900 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,800 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $2,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EAM Investors LLC purchased a new position in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,426,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 10,509 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $680,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. purchased a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,151,000. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 14,295 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Alaska Air Group by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,179,784 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $76,390,000 after purchasing an additional 121,220 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.28, for a total value of $503,448.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,595,808.40. This represents a 16.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 1,830 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.32, for a total transaction of $134,175.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,286 shares in the company, valued at $1,487,369.52. The trade was a 8.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 53,480 shares of company stock valued at $4,035,973 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ALK. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays dropped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $62.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Alaska Air Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.92.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK traded up $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.28. 962,665 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,646,557. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $53.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.37. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $32.62 and a 1 year high of $78.08.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The transportation company reported ($0.77) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by ($0.05). Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 3.37%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.92) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 40.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alaska Air Group 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.