Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 11,888 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors increased its Delta Air Lines position by 375%, purchasing 11,888 additional shares to hold 15,058 shares worth approximately $1.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 69.93% of Delta’s stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 23 Buy ratings and two Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $100.40.
• Delta exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.56 in EPS and $17.67 billion in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend to $0.215 per share. The stock recently traded at $87.53, down 1.2%.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 375.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,058 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,888 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,211,101 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,680,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012,265 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,163,644 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,607,557,000 after acquiring an additional 165,729 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,413,841 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,215,766,000 after purchasing an additional 202,865 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 137.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,811,787 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $958,538,000 after purchasing an additional 7,994,004 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,310,804 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $854,370,000 after purchasing an additional 56,455 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $112.00 price target on Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their target price on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.40.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 1.2%

DAL opened at $87.53 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $85.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $50.44 and a one year high of $95.68.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $17.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.43 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 5.79%.The firm's revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is presently 14.26%.

Insider Activity

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 9,710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $737,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 138,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,552,904. The trade was a 6.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total transaction of $2,036,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares in the company, valued at $7,738,836. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 65,331 shares of company stock valued at $5,036,638 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Delta Air Lines

Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts remain optimistic about Delta’s prospects, with coverage emphasizing the stock’s market outperformance and favorable recommendations. This supports investor confidence, although the reports provide limited new fundamental information. Do Wall Street Analysts Like Delta Air Lines Stock? Do Wall Street Analysts Like Delta Air Lines Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: A Delta partnership with DraftKings will offer customers a free-to-play sports knowledge contest. The initiative could modestly strengthen customer engagement and ancillary revenue opportunities, but its direct financial effect is likely limited. Delta, DraftKings partner on free-to-play sports knowledge contest
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta has attracted elevated attention from Zacks users, while broker commentary continues to favor the stock. The increased visibility may support trading interest, but it does not represent a new earnings or operating catalyst. Delta Air Lines Is a Trending Stock Brokers Suggest Investing in Delta
• Neutral Sentiment: Boeing narrowly led Airbus in orders at the Farnborough Airshow. A healthier Boeing could eventually improve aircraft supply and fleet-planning flexibility for airlines such as Delta, but the development has no immediate, material impact on DAL. Airlines Are Still Willing to Bet on Boeing

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.

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