South Dakota Investment Council Acquires 65,765 Shares of Alaska Air Group, Inc. $ALK

South Dakota Investment Council raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) by 24.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 335,502 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,765 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Alaska Air Group were worth $16,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 78.4% during the 2nd quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 1,009,317 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $49,941,000 after buying an additional 443,572 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Alaska Air Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $21,485,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Alaska Air Group by 18.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,374,501 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $118,203,000 after purchasing an additional 368,511 shares during the period. Lodge Hill Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 45.7% in the third quarter. Lodge Hill Capital LLC now owns 717,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,732,000 after purchasing an additional 225,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the third quarter valued at $9,492,000. 81.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ALK shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Alaska Air Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered Alaska Air Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price target (up from $60.00) on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alaska Air Group from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $63.00 target price on Alaska Air Group in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 5,500 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.63, for a total transaction of $311,465.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,745,789.64. This trade represents a 15.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shane R. Tackett sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.15, for a total value of $1,371,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 43,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,478,995.55. The trade was a 35.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,945 shares of company stock worth $3,204,569. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALK opened at $50.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $52.21 and a 200-day moving average of $51.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.50. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.63 and a fifty-two week high of $73.89. The stock has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 58.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.16.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The transportation company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.32. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 0.70% and a return on equity of 7.22%. The company had revenue of $3.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.97 earnings per share. Alaska Air Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Alaska Air Group has set its Q1 2026 guidance at -1.500–0.500 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-6.500 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

Alaska Air Group is a publicly traded holding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, that operates two main airlines—Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. Through these carriers, the company offers scheduled passenger and cargo services across a network spanning the United States, Canada and Mexico. Its core business activities include domestic and international air transportation, loyalty program management under the Mileage Plan brand, and ancillary revenue streams such as baggage fees, in-flight sales and code-share partnerships with other global airlines.

The roots of Alaska Air Group trace back to the foundation of its flagship carrier, Alaska Airlines, in 1932.