Graham Capital Management L.P. Buys 52,275 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 782.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,953 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 52,275 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $3,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 84.2% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 35,878 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,277,000 after purchasing an additional 16,404 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth about $474,000. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,696,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,441,828 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $87,231,000 after purchasing an additional 270,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EHP Funds Inc. grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 339.0% during the 4th quarter. EHP Funds Inc. now owns 18,000 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 13,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 1.8%

DAL stock traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $51.21. 3,639,403 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,465,982. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.28. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.74 and a 12-month high of $69.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.46.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $12.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company's revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DAL shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.42.

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.