Ellis Investment Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Ellis Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,372 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 994 shares during the quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DAL. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 6.2% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 74,495 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,783,000 after acquiring an additional 4,335 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 47.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 84,100 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,271,000 after purchasing an additional 27,006 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 4,990.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 13,642 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 13,374 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 13,205 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 60.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 100,395 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,099,000 after buying an additional 37,881 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL stock traded down $0.65 on Friday, hitting $54.12. The company had a trading volume of 5,982,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,445,705. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.60 and a twelve month high of $56.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $34.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.43.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.46% and a return on equity of 36.02%. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.63%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total transaction of $1,077,017.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 121,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,739,564.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on DAL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.40.

About Delta Air Lines

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.