Hosking Partners LLP Has $21.65 Million Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Hosking Partners LLP reduced its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 27.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 357,837 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 137,282 shares during the quarter. Hosking Partners LLP’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $21,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 2,150 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Mason & Associates Inc raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 5,088 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,298 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $865,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,820 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $59.71 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $37.29 and a one year high of $69.98. The firm has a market cap of $38.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $64.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. The trade was a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $2,467,312.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. The trade was a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.22.

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.