Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Invests $4.94 Million in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. has acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines, purchasing 113,379 shares valued at approximately $4.94 million.
• Delta Air Lines reported an earnings per share of $2.10 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, although revenue declined slightly compared to the previous year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.1875, showing a positive change from the prior dividend of $0.15, with an annual yield of 1.2%.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 113,379 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $4,943,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,924,506 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,179,508,000 after buying an additional 514,264 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 30.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,242,852 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $315,788,000 after buying an additional 1,681,464 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 149.9% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,963,882 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $246,487,000 after buying an additional 3,577,489 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,370,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5,224.6% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,336,709 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $189,081,000 after buying an additional 4,255,262 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL traded down $1.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,420,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,777,883. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $56.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.49. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $69.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.51.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 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 $15.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.36 earnings per share. Delta Air Lines's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $0.1875 dividend. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.56, for a total transaction of $2,523,701.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 131,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,318,974.36. This represents a 25.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total transaction of $1,969,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at $35,615,278.44. This trade represents a 5.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 136,473 shares of company stock worth $7,663,496. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Susquehanna Bancshares boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $63.00 in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target 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.