Sei Investments Co. Purchases 300,288 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 28.9% in the first quarter, buying 300,288 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1.34 million shares valued at about $89.0 million.
• Delta reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.56 versus the $1.49 consensus and revenue of $17.67 billion, with revenue up 18.7% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.215 per share from $0.19, while analysts remain generally bullish with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $100.40.

Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 28.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,339,423 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 300,288 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.20% of Delta Air Lines worth $89,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DAL. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 28,167 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,955,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 52,620 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,652,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 6,022 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,472 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 4,644 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $85.07 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $50.44 and a one year high of $95.68. The company has a market cap of $55.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.29.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $17.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.43 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 5.79%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.10 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is presently 14.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC reduced their price target on Delta Air Lines from $80.20 to $79.30 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Argus set a $105.00 target price on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $106.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.40.

Key Delta Air Lines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Delta continues to draw investor interest as a major U.S. carrier with a strong Atlanta hub and ongoing travel demand support, which can help keep sentiment constructive around the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Delta has also been trading with relatively low implied volatility, suggesting options are inexpensive and that traders may be positioning for a move higher or a stable range. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta reportedly outperformed other airline stocks even as the broader group weakened, indicating relative strength rather than a clear company-specific catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Rising jet fuel prices are pressuring U.S. airline earnings forecasts, and Delta has already flagged fuel expense as a key margin headwind, which is weighing on airline shares. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $2,036,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 133,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,574,466. This trade represents a 3.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 65,331 shares of company stock valued at $5,036,638 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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