Convergence Investment Partners LLC Takes Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 16,505 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DAL. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total value of $554,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at $1,304,291.12. The trade was a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.22.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of DAL opened at $65.04 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $64.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.29 and a 12 month high of $69.98.

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

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.26%.

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.