1,700 Shares in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) Purchased by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 1,700 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alaska Air Group during the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alaska Air Group during the second quarter worth about $81,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 17.1% during the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,230 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Alaska Air Group by 31.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. 81.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ALK. Susquehanna cut their target price on Alaska Air Group from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Alaska Air Group from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $51.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Alaska Air Group Stock Performance

Shares of ALK opened at $45.00 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.11. The stock has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.59. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.75 and a 12-month high of $46.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The transportation company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Alaska Air Group had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.14%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alaska Air Group Company 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.