First Trust Advisors LP Buys 460,465 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 95.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 942,773 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 460,465 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.14% of Delta Air Lines worth $62,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% in the 3rd quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 451.6% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 524 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $80.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.40.

Key Stories Impacting Delta Air Lines

Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Delta continues to draw investor interest as a major U.S. carrier with a strong Atlanta hub and ongoing travel demand support, which can help keep sentiment constructive around the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Delta has also been trading with relatively low implied volatility, suggesting options are inexpensive and that traders may be positioning for a move higher or a stable range. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta reportedly outperformed other airline stocks even as the broader group weakened, indicating relative strength rather than a clear company-specific catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Rising jet fuel prices are pressuring U.S. airline earnings forecasts, and Delta has already flagged fuel expense as a key margin headwind, which is weighing on airline shares. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $2,036,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,738,836. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 133,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,574,466. The trade was a 3.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 65,331 shares of company stock valued at $5,036,638 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 3.8%

NYSE:DAL opened at $85.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.56. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.44 and a fifty-two week high of $95.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.29.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $17.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.43 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 5.79%.Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a $0.215 dividend. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.26%.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.