HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Makes New Investment in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 8,285 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $333,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DAL. American International Group Inc. boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 181,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,783 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 132.3% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 466,741 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $18,777,000 after buying an additional 265,852 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,241,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 325.5% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 77,647 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,124,000 after buying an additional 59,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,127,607 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $45,364,000 after acquiring an additional 73,936 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on DAL shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.80 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $59.85.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL opened at $49.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.38, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.46 and a 200-day moving average of $44.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.60 and a 12-month high of $53.86.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.15 dividend. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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