Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Reduces Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,780,525 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 11,884 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.28% of Delta Air Lines worth $84,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,936,699 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $842,283,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689,053 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,030,836 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $719,526,000 after purchasing an additional 49,712 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,933,785 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $471,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,674 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 220.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,600,741 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $346,008,000 after purchasing an additional 5,914,301 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 6,467,749 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $260,198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376,221 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $46.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.29 billion, a PE ratio of 6.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.60 and a 12-month high of $53.86. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.29.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The transportation company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.37 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $15.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.45 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.46% and a return on equity of 36.02%. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 8.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Willie Cw Chiang purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $43.90 per share, for a total transaction of $439,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $878,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Delta Air Lines from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $61.52.

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.