Empirical Finance LLC Buys 783 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,892 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 396.6% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 26,166.7% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 788 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 122.5% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 821 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordwand Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, Director Willie Cw Chiang purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $49.50 per share, for a total transaction of $495,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $495,000. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $1,176,206.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at $6,911,295.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie Cw Chiang bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $49.50 per share, for a total transaction of $495,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 178,919 shares of company stock worth $8,834,653. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DAL. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 target price for the company. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $60.36.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL traded down $1.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.62. The company had a trading volume of 16,675,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,706,544. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.48. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.60 and a 1 year high of $53.86. The stock has a market cap of $28.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.35.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The transportation company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.37 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $15.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.45 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.14%.

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.