Strs Ohio Increases Stock Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Strs Ohio lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 22.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,599 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 16,977 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $6,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 28,167 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,955,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 52,620 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,652,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 4,721 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 6,022 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple earnings-preview pieces say Delta looks positioned to beat estimates, supported by strong bookings and lower fuel costs, which could improve near-term results. Delta Air Lines (DAL) Expected to Beat Earnings Estimates: Should You Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on Delta to $105 from $80 and kept an outperform rating, reinforcing a more optimistic Wall Street view of the airline. Benzinga report on BMO price target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs and TD Cowen also lifted targets across major U.S. airlines, with Delta included, which signals improving analyst confidence in the sector’s revenue outlook. Airlines Get a Wall Street Lift as Goldman, TD Cowen Raise Targets on Delta, United, Southwest, American
• Positive Sentiment: Delta’s international expansion, including its Korean Air partnership and new Los Angeles-to-Hong Kong service, underscores growth in the high-margin trans-Pacific market. Delta (DAL) Expands Pacific Reach With Korean Air Tie Up And Hong Kong Route

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total transaction of $2,036,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,738,836. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 69,304 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.15, for a total value of $4,723,067.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 69,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,727,497.35. This trade represents a 49.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 149,635 shares of company stock worth $10,833,855 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on DAL shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Seaport Research Partners lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Delta Air Lines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.93.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $92.75 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.19 and a 52-week high of $95.68. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.91. The company has a market capitalization of $60.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.29.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $0.215 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.93%.

Delta Air Lines 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.