Bank of Nova Scotia decreased its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 29.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,989 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 22,767 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $2,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,275,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 481,107 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $29,107,000 after buying an additional 38,423 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 29.3% during the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.
Delta Air Lines Price Performance
NYSE:DAL traded down $0.51 on Thursday, reaching $53.61. 4,973,894 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,952,094. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.70. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $69.98. The firm has a market cap of $35.00 billion, a PE ratio of 7.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 7.24%. The firm had revenue of $15,507,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.
Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. 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. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is presently 10.87%.
Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines
In other Delta Air Lines news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 97,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,456,379.80. This represents a 15.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.56, for a total value of $2,523,701.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 131,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,318,974.36. The trade was a 25.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,973 shares of company stock worth $7,511,746 over the last ninety days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts recently commented on DAL shares. Susquehanna Bancshares lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $64.00 to $69.20 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.21.
View Our Latest Report on Delta Air Lines
About Delta Air Lines
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Delta Air Lines, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Delta Air Lines wasn't on the list.
While Delta Air Lines currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Market downturns give many investors pause, and for good reason. Wondering how to offset this risk? Enter your email address to learn more about using beta to protect your portfolio.
Get This Free Report
