Xponance Inc. Increases Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 37.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,859 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,372 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $5,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,414,074,000 after purchasing an additional 749,099 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,501,936 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $789,452,000 after acquiring an additional 416,338 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth $281,206,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth $328,398,000. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth $189,296,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DAL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $2,467,312.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,478.21. This trade represents a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total transaction of $447,271.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,016 shares in the company, valued at $660,455.04. This represents a 40.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $47.78 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.29 and a 12-month high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.26%.

Delta Air Lines Company 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.