Rafferty Asset Management LLC Acquires 6,540 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 78,720 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,540 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $4,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 14,831 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 3,593 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,719 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 53.2% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 15,784 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 5,479 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,346 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth $211,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $50.99 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $43.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $69.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.29 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.46.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.38). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business had revenue of $12.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Delta Air Lines from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $60.42.

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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