Islay Capital Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Islay Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 28,442 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,144,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 8.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,839,122 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $401,048,000 after purchasing an additional 865,746 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 17.1% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 5,091,528 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $188,514,000 after acquiring an additional 743,882 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 3.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,966,330 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $183,754,000 after acquiring an additional 145,513 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 27.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,813,848 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $178,112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,434,509 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $178,400,000 after acquiring an additional 773,636 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DAL shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at $10,672,495.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total transaction of $1,176,206.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at $6,911,295.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at $10,672,495.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,913 shares of company stock worth $8,897,335 over the last 90 days. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.44. 4,455,452 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,789,803. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.60 and a 52 week high of $50.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.55 billion, a PE ratio of 6.49, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $45.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 41.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.14%.

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.