Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 212,990 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 746.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 241,538 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 212,990 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $10,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DAL. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at about $328,398,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $152,342,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 405.3% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,054,285 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $184,784,000 after acquiring an additional 2,449,874 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,955,818 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $602,327,000 after buying an additional 2,254,560 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 29,764,524 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,800,754,000 after buying an additional 1,922,932 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL stock traded down $2.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $47.32. 9,197,857 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,692,534. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.74 and a 52-week high of $69.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.51.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $12.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.85 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 28.18%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on DAL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $46.00 price target (down from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $83.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $66.00 target price on Delta Air Lines and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.08.

Delta Air Lines 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.