Synovus Financial Corp Boosts Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 530.9%, acquiring an additional 50,571 shares, bringing its total holdings to 60,096 shares valued at approximately $2.62 million.
• The stock has received several price target upgrades from brokerages, with Deutsche Bank increasing its target from $53 to $63 and HSBC raising it from $64 to $69.20, reflecting a bullish sentiment.
• Delta Air Lines recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.1875 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.2%, up from the previous $0.15.

Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 530.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,096 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 50,571 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $2,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 123.3% during the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 749,397 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $32,674,000 after acquiring an additional 413,868 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,138 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 347.4% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,232,974 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $184,909,000 after acquiring an additional 3,286,741 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 26,530 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CW Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 109,637 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,793,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL stock traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $62.00. The company had a trading volume of 5,824,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,201,049. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.74 and a 52-week high of $69.98. The stock has a market cap of $40.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.56. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $54.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.82.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $15.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.36 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total value of $1,969,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at $35,615,278.44. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 191,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,948,567.98. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 136,473 shares of company stock valued at $7,663,496. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.21.

Delta Air Lines Company 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.