Insider Buying: Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Director Buys 10,000 Shares of Stock

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Director Willie Cw Chiang acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $49.50 per share, for a total transaction of $495,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $495,000. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of DAL opened at $51.55 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.60 and a 52-week high of $51.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.72. The stock has a market cap of $32.99 billion, a PE ratio of 6.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.38.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $12.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DAL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DAL. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 220.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,600,741 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $346,008,000 after acquiring an additional 5,914,301 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,936,699 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $842,283,000 after buying an additional 1,689,053 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,056,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,618,627 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $105,347,000 after buying an additional 1,550,770 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 6,467,749 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $260,198,000 after buying an additional 1,376,221 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.