Czech National Bank Increases Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• The Czech National Bank has increased its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. by 8.3%, now holding over 159,000 shares valued at approximately $7.8 million.
• Delta Air Lines reported $2.10 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.01, although revenue was slightly below estimates at $15.51 billion.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Delta Air Lines, with Wolfe Research setting a new target at $63.00, reflecting a positive outlook for the company's stock.

Czech National Bank boosted its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 8.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 159,604 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 12,230 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $7,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DAL. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5,224.6% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,336,709 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $189,081,000 after purchasing an additional 4,255,262 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 149.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,963,882 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $246,487,000 after buying an additional 3,577,489 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 347.4% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,232,974 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $184,909,000 after buying an additional 3,286,741 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,469.9% in the first quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 3,309,020 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $144,273,000 after purchasing an additional 3,098,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at about $122,849,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 0.6%

DAL stock traded up $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.83. 15,277,569 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,186,185. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.07 billion, a PE ratio of 8.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.51. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.74 and a 1 year high of $69.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $57.94 and a 200-day moving average of $50.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.38.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.16 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.24% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.36 EPS. Analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on DAL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.56.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total transaction of $1,007,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 97,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,456,379.80. This trade represents a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total transaction of $1,003,684.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 191,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,948,567.98. The trade was a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 136,473 shares of company stock worth $7,663,496. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.