Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Makes New $1.83 Million Investment in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 42,000 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,831,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 1,469.9% during 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 period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at $152,342,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 405.3% during the fourth 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 period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 66.9% during the first 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 period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,955,818 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $602,327,000 after purchasing an additional 2,254,560 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE DAL traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.31. 8,975,576 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,908,014. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.74 and a 52-week high of $69.98. The company has a market capitalization of $36.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.16, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.49. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $50.42 and its 200-day moving average is $52.56.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.36 EPS. Delta Air Lines's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.1875 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 1.33%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is 8.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 131,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,318,974.36. This represents a 25.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,456,379.80. This represents a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 98,973 shares of company stock valued at $5,541,946 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DAL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Bernstein Bank upped their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley upped 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 report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.21.

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.