Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Stake Lifted by Cetera Advisors LLC

Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 137.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 111,571 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,579 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $5,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 220.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,600,741 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $346,008,000 after buying an additional 5,914,301 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,936,699 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $842,283,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,053 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth $65,056,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 145.2% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,618,627 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $105,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 6,467,749 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $260,198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,221 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE DAL traded down $1.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $39.83. 9,378,288 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,232,310. 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 capitalization of $25.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.73, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50 day moving average of $47.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.82.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.45 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 36.02% and a net margin of 7.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $60.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie Cw Chiang bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $43.90 per share, for a total transaction of $439,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $878,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company 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.