Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 1,017 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,339 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,017 shares during the period. Delta Air Lines makes up about 0.6% of Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 11.1% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 41,398 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,103,000 after buying an additional 4,132 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 404,638 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $20,552,000 after acquiring an additional 12,450 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 44,735 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 31.2% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 232,401 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,804,000 after acquiring an additional 55,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5,514.0% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 400,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $20,316,000 after purchasing an additional 392,875 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 5.1 %

DAL opened at $43.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.29 and a 1-year high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. Analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.29.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $1,241,367.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,889 shares in the company, valued at $2,479,212.12. The trade was a 33.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total value of $554,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. This trade represents a 29.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 in the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines Profile

Delta Air Lines, Inc provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Salt Lake City, as well as coastal hub positions in Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, and Seattle; and international network centered on hubs and market presence in Amsterdam, Bogota, Lima, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Sao Paulo, Seoul-Incheon, and Tokyo.