Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 61.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 7,221 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 122.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 35,436 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,800,000 after purchasing an additional 19,477 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $245,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 419.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 562,129 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,551,000 after purchasing an additional 453,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,674 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. The trade was a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total transaction of $447,271.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,016 shares in the company, valued at $660,455.04. The trade was a 40.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.22.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of DAL opened at $58.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $64.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.47. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.29 and a fifty-two week 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.

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

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 11.26%.

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.