6,897 Shares in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL Purchased by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. has purchased 6,897 shares of Delta Air Lines, valued at approximately $301,000, marking a significant investment in the company during the first quarter.
• Delta Air Lines has recently seen several analyst upgrades, with Goldman Sachs raising their target price from $60 to $67 and maintaining a "buy" rating, contributing to a consensus rating of "Buy" with an average target price of $66.21.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase, with shareholders expected to receive $0.1875 per share on August 21st, up from the previous $0.15 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning capital to investors.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 6,897 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth $2,353,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 51.7% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 65,461 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,960,000 after purchasing an additional 22,309 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 745,971 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $45,131,000 after purchasing an additional 100,289 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 169,740 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $10,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,950 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $66.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total value of $1,003,684.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 191,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,948,567.98. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total value of $1,007,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 97,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,456,379.80. This represents a 15.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 136,473 shares of company stock valued at $7,663,496. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock traded up $3.7920 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.6320. 10,298,637 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,192,062. The company has a market capitalization of $40.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.74 and a 52-week high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15,507,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.16 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 7.24%.The business's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.87%.

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.