Norges Bank Buys Shares of 1,252,605 Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,252,605 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,931,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.19% of Delta Air Lines at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter valued at about $178,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $555,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 102.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,825 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 357,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 58,129 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after buying an additional 5,564 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $79.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business’s 50 day moving average is $71.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.72. The company has a market cap of $52.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.30. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.28 and a 12 month high of $83.83.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.05 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.37 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 10.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DAL. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. HSBC reduced their price target on Delta Air Lines from $80.20 to $79.30 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $1,074,150.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 54,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,364.09. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $2,036,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 95,025 shares in the company, valued at $7,738,836. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 149,635 shares of company stock worth $10,833,855 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.