River Road Asset Management LLC Buys 995,685 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• River Road Asset Management sharply increased its Delta Air Lines stake by 339.5% in Q4, buying 995,685 additional shares and ending with 1.29 million shares valued at about $89.5 million.
• Delta reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.64 versus $0.61 expected and revenue of $14.20 billion, up 9.4% year over year.
• The airline raised its quarterly dividend to $0.215 per share from $0.19, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $81.05.

River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 339.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,288,956 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 995,685 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC owned about 0.20% of Delta Air Lines worth $89,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% in the 3rd quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 451.6% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 524 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 2.3%

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $84.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $45.28 and a one year high of $87.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.30. The business's fifty day moving average is $74.37 and its 200 day moving average is $70.15.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.The company had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Delta Air Lines's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.37 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $0.215 dividend. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.93%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 95,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,738,836. The trade was 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 link. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $1,074,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 54,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,364.09. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 149,635 shares of company stock worth $10,833,855 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, April 17th. Seaport Research Partners raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.05.

Key Stories Impacting Delta Air Lines

Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Delta’s board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2150 per share, about 15% above prior levels, signaling confidence in cash flow and rewarding investors. Delta Air Lines Declares Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Lower crude prices are helping airline stocks, including Delta, by easing fuel-cost pressure and improving near-term margins. Popular Airline Stock Continues Higher on Lower Crude Costs
• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. government closed its investigation into Delta’s handling of the CrowdStrike outage, removing a legal and reputational overhang that had affected investor sentiment. Trump Administration Clears Delta in CrowdStrike Outage Probe, Ends Investigation Into Travel Meltdown That Impacted 1.3 Million Passengers
• Positive Sentiment: Delta also announced a fleet-efficiency upgrade, planning to install VCT finlets across 240 Boeing 737NG aircraft, which could help reduce fuel burn and operating costs over time. Delta Advances Fleet Efficiency with VCT Finlets Across 737NG Fleet

Delta Air Lines Company 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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