Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Position Increased by Fiera Capital Corp

Key Points

• Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 20.2%, owning 140,482 shares valued at approximately $6.13 million.
• Several brokerages have raised their price targets for Delta Air Lines, with an average target now at $66.21 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Delta Air Lines recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1875 per share, an increase from the previous $0.15, representing an annualized yield of 1.40%.

Fiera Capital Corp increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 20.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 140,482 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 23,651 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $6,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DAL. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 6.0% during the first quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,648 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 573.2% during the first quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 53,933 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,351,000 after purchasing an additional 45,921 shares in the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 1.1% during the first quarter. one8zero8 LLC now owns 21,405 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 55.4% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 51,318 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,237,000 after purchasing an additional 18,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 1.8% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 33,817 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DAL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, July 11th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price objective on Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.21.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL stock traded down $2.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $51.15. The stock had a trading volume of 9,532,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,176,950. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.74 and a fifty-two week high of $69.98. The firm has a market cap of $33.40 billion, a PE ratio of 7.41, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $51.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.04.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15,507,000 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.36 earnings per share. Sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 10.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 191,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,948,567.98. The trade was a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total transaction of $1,969,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,615,278.44. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 133,973 shares of company stock valued at $7,511,746. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Delta Air Lines Company 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.