Castleark Management LLC Buys 31,250 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Castleark Management LLC increased its Delta Air Lines stake by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 31,250 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 260,740 shares valued at about $18.1 million.
• Delta insiders have been selling shares, including EVP Allison C. Ausband and EVP John E. Laughter, with insiders selling 149,635 shares worth roughly $10.8 million over the last quarter.
• Delta reported solid quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates with EPS of $0.64 on revenue of $14.2 billion, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating and a consensus price target of $80.85.

Castleark Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 260,740 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,250 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $18,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CI Investments Inc. raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 29,619 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,056,000 after buying an additional 13,122 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,607 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 28,633 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,987,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 15,241 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,060,000 after purchasing an additional 3,793 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 127.8% during the 4th quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 49,793 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,456,000 after purchasing an additional 27,935 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 9,710 shares of the firm'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 transaction 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 approximately $10,552,904. This trade represents a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 69,304 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.15, for a total transaction of $4,723,067.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 69,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,727,497.35. This represents a 49.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 149,635 shares of company stock valued at $10,833,855. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the topic of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. HSBC reduced their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.20 to $79.30 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.85.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE:DAL opened at $83.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $54.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $73.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.54. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.28 and a twelve month high of $83.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.37 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.93%.

Delta Air Lines Profile

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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