Stephens Inc. AR Trims Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,605 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 546 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at $4,302,000. American International Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 181,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,286,000 after buying an additional 2,783 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 221,554 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,913,000 after buying an additional 66,041 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 242,548 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $9,758,000 after buying an additional 1,987 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 150.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 89,447 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,598,000 after buying an additional 53,741 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $50.52 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $32.60 billion, a PE ratio of 6.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.14. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.60 and a fifty-two week high of $53.86.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total transaction of $253,445.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 112,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,879,618.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total transaction of $253,445.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 112,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,879,618.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Willie Cw Chiang bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $49.50 per share, with a total value of $495,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 178,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,834,653 over the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on DAL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. HSBC began coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.80 target price on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $59.85.

About Delta Air Lines

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.