Range Financial Group LLC Purchases New Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,279 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 8.8% in the 4th 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. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,981,124 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $602,691,000 after buying an additional 79,818 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,839,122 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $401,048,000 after purchasing an additional 865,746 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 220.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,600,741 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $346,008,000 after purchasing an additional 5,914,301 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,374,052 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $336,908,000 after acquiring an additional 826,232 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 112,421 shares in the company, valued at $5,879,618.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Willie Cw Chiang acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $49.50 per share, for a total transaction of $495,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $5,879,618.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 178,919 shares of company stock worth $8,834,653 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.80 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.85.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL stock opened at $49.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.35, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.99. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.60 and a 1 year high of $53.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $13.75 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.14%.

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.