Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 22.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 109,977 shares of the transportation company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,057 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $4,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,410,242 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,380,820,000 after purchasing an additional 456,465 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 29,764,524 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,800,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,932 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,912,584 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $968,234,000 after purchasing an additional 410,648 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,180,467 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $918,419,000 after acquiring an additional 46,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,090,209 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $670,994,000 after acquiring an additional 92,208 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 2.4%

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $48.35 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $47.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.59. The company has a market cap of $31.57 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.51. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.74 and a 1-year high of $69.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.38). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 28.18% and a net margin of 5.91%. The firm had revenue of $12.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is 10.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DAL. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $60.00 price target on Delta Air Lines and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $83.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered Delta Air Lines from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.67.

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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