Wealth Effects LLC Lowers Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Wealth Effects LLC lessened its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 8.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,825 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Wealth Effects LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 584 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE:DAL opened at $48.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.38. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $69.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.59. The stock has a market cap of $31.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.51.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.38). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 28.18% and a net margin of 5.91%. The firm had revenue of $12.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Delta Air Lines’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 10.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on DAL. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Dbs Bank cut Delta Air Lines from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.67.

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.