Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Position Boosted by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 46,841 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $2,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 2,150 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Mason & Associates Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 5,088 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,298 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,820 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was 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 owns 35,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,479,212.12. This represents a 33.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.22.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $53.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $37.29 and a one year high of $69.98. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $63.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.88. The company has a market capitalization of $34.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

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.