Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 2,419 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky reduced its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,289 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,419 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $2,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 8,146 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Navalign LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Navalign LLC now owns 17,402 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,240 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 13,922 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 18,678 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL stock opened at $49.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.41. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.60 and a fifty-two week high of $53.86. The company 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 50 day moving average price of $50.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.76.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 41.89%. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 5.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DAL shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised 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 note on Wednesday, May 29th. HSBC began coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.80 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 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 assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total value of $253,445.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 112,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,879,618.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $2,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,328 shares in the company, valued at $7,166,400. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 178,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,834,653 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.