Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $1.70 Million Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK - Free Report) by 43.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,500 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 26,900 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System's holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $1,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ALK. FMR LLC boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 328.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,649,388 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $301,048,000 after purchasing an additional 3,564,749 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 134.0% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,134,221 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $138,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222,277 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 4,615.3% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 943,064 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $61,063,000 after purchasing an additional 923,064 shares in the last quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,306,000. Finally, Interval Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,507,000. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alaska Air Group

In related news, VP Emily Halverson sold 2,946 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.34, for a total transaction of $151,247.64. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at $423,709.02. This trade represents a 26.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.51, for a total value of $401,325.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,530 shares in the company, valued at $1,419,620.30. This represents a 22.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,479 shares of company stock worth $554,228 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ALK shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen raised 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, April 25th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on Alaska Air Group from $95.00 to $55.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.83.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

ALK traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $53.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,616,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,907,566. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.40. The stock has a market cap of $6.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.41. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.62 and a twelve month high of $78.08.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 15.01%. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.92) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 40.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

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.