Sterling Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 119.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,002 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 29,439 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $3,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DAL. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $30,721,357.15. The trade was a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,789 shares in the company, valued at $3,425,478.21. This trade represents a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DAL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Delta Air Lines from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.06.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $40.88 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.74 and a twelve month high of $69.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $26.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.67, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $52.37 and its 200 day moving average is $57.69.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $12.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. Delta Air Lines’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.