Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Purchased by United Community Bank

United Community Bank boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 14.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,311 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 532 shares during the quarter. United Community Bank’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the first quarter worth approximately $150,000. Wright Investors Service Inc. grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 2.1% in the first quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 35,193 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,685,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 15.8% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 31,798 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,522,000 after buying an additional 4,337 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. HSBC began coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.80 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.30.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of DAL stock traded down $0.10 on Wednesday, hitting $46.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,138,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,398,169. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.60 and a fifty-two week high of $53.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $50.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.35.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 41.89%. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 5.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total transaction of $253,445.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 112,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,879,618.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 217,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,672,495.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total transaction of $253,445.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 112,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,879,618.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 178,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,834,653 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Company 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.