Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Trims Stake in Alaska Air Group, Inc. $ALK

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $1,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 2,046.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 96,932 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,276,000 after buying an additional 92,416 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 459.1% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,297 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 28.8% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,643 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 1,261 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 16.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,033 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $199,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 96.3% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,926 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. 81.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Alaska Air Group

In related news, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.06, for a total transaction of $285,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 43,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,472,695.10. This trade represents a 10.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 7,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.22, for a total transaction of $404,472.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,007,454.60. The trade was a 28.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,514 shares of company stock valued at $1,031,306. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

ALK opened at $47.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.23 and a 200 day moving average of $51.81. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.79 and a fifty-two week high of $78.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.65 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 12.62%. Alaska Air Group’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. Alaska Air Group has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.400 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 3.250- EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Alaska Air Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $73.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. UBS Group raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Susquehanna set a $58.00 price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alaska Air Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.62.

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.