LSV Asset Management Buys 65,463 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,320,447 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,463 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned 0.52% of Delta Air Lines worth $133,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 14,106 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053 shares in the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 38,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 6,852 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,143 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 89,919 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,617,000 after acquiring an additional 9,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JFG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth about $483,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.29.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.55. 9,165,946 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,487,077. The firm has a market cap of $32.99 billion, a PE ratio of 6.63, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.38. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.60 and a 12 month high of $51.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.72.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is 5.14%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, Director Willie Cw Chiang bought 10,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $49.50 per share, with a total value of $495,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Willie Cw Chiang purchased 10,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $49.50 per share, for a total transaction of $495,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $2,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,166,400. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 174,073 shares of company stock valued at $8,581,207 over the last three months. 0.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.