Cercano Management LLC Acquires Shares of 44,965 Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Cercano Management LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 44,965 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,720,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 414.4% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL opened at $45.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $29.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.46. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $69.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.63.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) 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 net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The business had revenue of $12.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is presently 10.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $1,241,367.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,479,212.12. This represents a 33.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DAL. Dbs Bank cut Delta Air Lines from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.06.

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.