Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $49.94 and last traded at $49.79, with a volume of 9848728 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.94.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 5.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on DAL shares. StockNews.com cut Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $58.29.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 4.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.07. The firm has a market cap of $32.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.43.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 217,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,672,495.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 217,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,672,495.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $1,176,206.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,911,295.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 195,913 shares of company stock valued at $8,897,335. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,145 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 8,146 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navalign LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Navalign LLC now owns 17,402 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

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.