Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Lowers Holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 54,873 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 5,147 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $3,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 32.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,084,639 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,037,000 after purchasing an additional 265,343 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 54.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 57,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,591,000 after buying an additional 20,347 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the 4th quarter worth $772,000. Entropy Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 358.9% in the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 27,428 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,240,000 after buying an additional 21,451 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 156.3% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 83,777 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,788,000 after acquiring an additional 51,096 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on ALK shares. Susquehanna upgraded Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and set a $95.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $63.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alaska Air Group news, SVP Andrea L. Schneider sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.50, for a total transaction of $234,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,086 shares in the company, valued at $1,338,961. This represents a 14.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 91,745 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.14, for a total transaction of $6,526,739.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,468,187.32. The trade was a 81.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 189,198 shares of company stock worth $13,415,604 in the last three months. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Alaska Air Group stock opened at $72.11 on Thursday. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.62 and a 12-month high of $78.08. 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 capitalization of $8.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $69.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.22.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.52. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 3.37%. On average, research analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal 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.