Cozad Asset Management Inc. Boosts Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Key Points

• Cozad Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 62.8%, acquiring 9,453 shares to own a total of 24,508 shares valued at approximately $1,069,000.
• Delta Air Lines reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the most recent quarter, beating estimates of $2.01, with revenue slightly down by 0.1% year-over-year.
• The airline declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1875, a significant increase from the previous dividend of $0.15, indicating positive growth in its financial outlook.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 62.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,508 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 9,453 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DAL. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5,224.6% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,336,709 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $189,081,000 after buying an additional 4,255,262 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,469.9% in the 1st quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 3,309,020 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $144,273,000 after buying an additional 3,098,237 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at about $152,342,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 405.3% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,054,285 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $184,784,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,915,545 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $257,918,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370,795 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total transaction of $1,969,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 632,823 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,615,278.44. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 97,505 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 133,973 shares of company stock worth $7,511,746. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL traded down $0.42 on Thursday, hitting $53.18. 6,536,059 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,156,214. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.74 and a fifty-two week high of $69.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.15. The stock has a market cap of $34.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.49.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.24% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The company had revenue of $15,507,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.36 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Bernstein Bank raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.21.

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.