Rafferty Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Delta Air Lines by 22.4% during the first quarter, now holding 61,066 shares valued at approximately $2.66 million.
• Delta Air Lines reported $2.10 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.01, but its revenue of $15.51 billion fell short of the $16.16 billion estimate.
• Analysts' ratings for Delta Air Lines are generally positive, with two Strong Buy ratings, fifteen Buy ratings, and an average target price of $66.21.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 22.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,066 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 17,654 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $2,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 584 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the first quarter valued at $35,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the first quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 104.8% during the first quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 991 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,615,278.44. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total value of $1,003,684.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 191,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,948,567.98. This represents a 8.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 136,473 shares of company stock valued at $7,663,496 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $61.16. The stock had a trading volume of 6,923,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,517,334. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $69.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $55.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86, a PEG 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 7.24%.The company had revenue of $15.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is currently 10.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on DAL. Susquehanna Bancshares boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $64.00 to $69.20 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $66.21.

Delta Air Lines Profile

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.