Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL Shares Acquired by Woodline Partners LP

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 178.4% in the first quarter, owning 652,559 shares valued at approximately $28.45 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Delta Air Lines, with Goldman Sachs increasing it from $60.00 to $67.00 and Barclays from $58.00 to $65.00, indicating a positive outlook on the stock.
• Delta Air Lines announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.1875 per share, raising its annualized dividend to $0.75 and yielding 1.2%.

Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 178.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 652,559 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 418,197 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP owned 0.10% of Delta Air Lines worth $28,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter worth $293,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,779,002 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 41,921 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter worth $1,092,000. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 74.3% during the 1st quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 91,301 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $3,981,000 after purchasing an additional 38,911 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,550 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Susquehanna set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.21.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, Director Michael P. Huerta sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total value of $151,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,017,971.50. This represents a 6.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total transaction of $1,007,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 97,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,456,379.80. The trade was a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 136,473 shares of company stock worth $7,663,496 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $60.75 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $39.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.51. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.16 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.24% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The business's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.36 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is 10.87%.

About Delta Air Lines

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.

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