Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $2.21 Million Stock Position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 470.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,434 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 46,540 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $2,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 215.8% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 761 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 255.5% in the fourth 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. grew its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 456.1% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 912 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 63.4% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,297 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Alaska Air Group during the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Alaska Air Group

In other Alaska Air Group news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total transaction of $249,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at $999,201.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Up 0.3 %

ALK stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.29. The stock had a trading volume of 164,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,404,501. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.07. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.75 and a 52-week high of $57.18.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.62) EPS. Alaska Air Group’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ALK. StockNews.com raised Alaska Air Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Alaska Air Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.85.

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.