Kera Capital Partners Inc. Invests $303,000 in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Kera Capital Partners Inc. invested $303,000 in Delta Air Lines by acquiring 6,164 shares in the second quarter, indicating increased institutional confidence in the airline.
• Major Wall Street analysts have raised their target prices for Delta Air Lines, with Goldman Sachs increasing it from $60 to $67 and maintaining a "buy" rating among several other firms.
• Delta Air Lines has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.1875 per share, up from $0.15, representing a 1.3% dividend yield, reflecting positive financial health and commitment to shareholders.

Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,164 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $303,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DAL. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 584 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at $40,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DAL has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Susquehanna Bancshares raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.93.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.56, for a total transaction 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 approximately $7,318,974.36. This trade represents a 25.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael P. Huerta sold 2,500 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,017,971.50. This trade represents a 6.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 136,473 shares of company stock valued at $7,663,496. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 0.8%

DAL opened at $59.94 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.74 and a fifty-two week high of $69.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $39.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $57.35 and a 200-day moving average of $50.54.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $15.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.36 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. 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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