NewEdge Advisors LLC Purchases 53,581 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• NewEdge Advisors more than doubled its Delta Air Lines position in the first quarter, acquiring 53,581 additional shares for a total holding of 105,966 shares valued at approximately $7.05 million. Institutional investors collectively own 69.93% of DAL.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 23 Buy ratings and two Holds. The consensus price target is $100.40, while several firms recently set targets between $105 and $112.
• Delta exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.56 in EPS and $17.67 billion in revenue, while raising its quarterly dividend to $0.215 per share. However, insiders sold roughly 401,436 shares worth $36.6 million over the past 90 days.

NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 102.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,966 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 53,581 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $7,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $178,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $555,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 102.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,825 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 357,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 58,129 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,859,000 after buying an additional 5,564 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DAL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $75.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Argus set a $105.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 35,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.72, for a total transaction of $3,245,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,810,718. This trade represents a 26.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Peter W. Carter sold 39,900 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.98, for a total transaction of $3,709,902.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 424,704 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,488,977.92. The trade was a 8.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 401,436 shares of company stock valued at $36,617,497 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $88.99 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $86.62 and its 200 day moving average is $75.07. The stock has a market cap of $58.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.31. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.12 and a 1-year high of $95.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $17.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.43 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 17.52%. The company's revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a $0.215 dividend. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.26%.

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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