Olstein Capital Management L.P. Increases Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Olstein Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 32.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 175,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 43,000 shares during the quarter. Delta Air Lines accounts for about 1.5% of Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $8,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 742,773 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,725,000 after buying an additional 19,124 shares during the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.1% during the third quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 41,598 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,113,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 27.1% during the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 6,203 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 1,321 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 20.8% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 36,011 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,829,000 after buying an additional 6,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 22.8% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 130,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,634,000 after buying an additional 24,249 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of DAL traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $62.38. The stock had a trading volume of 565,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,419,958. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.31 and a 1-year high of $62.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.04. The company has a market cap of $40.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total transaction of $1,077,017.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 121,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,739,564.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total transaction of $1,077,017.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 121,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,739,564.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 10,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $603,582.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,607,112.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 111,200 shares of company stock worth $6,269,469. 0.96% of the stock is 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.