Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Shares Bought by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 145.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,003 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $1,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 215.8% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 761 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 255.5% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 775 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in Alaska Air Group by 456.1% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 912 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $41.18 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.80. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.75 and a twelve month high of $57.18. The company has a market capitalization of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.09) by $0.17. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.62) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group assumed 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.60.

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.