Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Purchases 160 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,816 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $1,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,284 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,271 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plan Group Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 8,136 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALK. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.69.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In other news, COO Muehlen Constance E. Von sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.09, for a total transaction of $252,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $767,300.58. This trade represents a 24.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joseph A. Sprague sold 2,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.38, for a total transaction of $149,683.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,245,109.20. The trade was a 10.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 189,198 shares of company stock valued at $13,415,604 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALK opened at $72.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.55. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.60. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a one year low of $32.62 and a one year high of $78.08.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 14.66%. Research analysts predict 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.