National Pension Service Acquires 39,048 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• National Pension Service significantly increased its Delta Air Lines stake in the fourth quarter, boosting holdings by 184.4% to 60,218 shares worth about $4.18 million.
• Delta reported a solid quarter, posting $0.64 EPS and $14.20 billion in revenue, both ahead of analyst estimates, while revenue rose 9.4% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1875 per share and continues to receive generally positive analyst sentiment, with an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $80.85.

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 184.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,218 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,048 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $4,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% in the 3rd quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total transaction of $2,036,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares in the company, valued at $7,738,836. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $1,074,150.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 54,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,893,364.09. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 149,635 shares of company stock worth $10,833,855 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of DAL stock opened at $81.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.30. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.28 and a 1-year high of $83.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.48 and a 200 day moving average of $68.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.05 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.Delta Air Lines's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DAL has been the subject of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.85.

Delta Air Lines Profile

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.

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