Panagora Asset Management Inc. Purchases 428,450 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management increased its Delta Air Lines stake by 31.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 428,450 shares and bringing its total holding to 1,804,005 shares worth about $125.2 million.
• Delta reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.64 versus estimates of $0.61 and revenue of $14.2 billion, up 9.4% year over year. Analysts now expect the airline to earn 5.37 EPS for the full year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.1875 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.85.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 31.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,804,005 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 428,450 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.28% of Delta Air Lines worth $125,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $83.11 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $54.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's fifty day moving average is $73.02 and its 200-day moving average is $69.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.28 and a 52 week high of $83.83.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Delta Air Lines's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict 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 was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.20 to $79.30 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.85.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

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

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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