Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 239 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,198 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 7.3% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 12,625 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 11.1% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 336,176 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $16,093,000 after buying an additional 33,646 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 24.4% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,608,000 after buying an additional 6,580 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 11.2% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 169,147 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,097,000 after purchasing an additional 17,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.7% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 661,242 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $31,654,000 after purchasing an additional 17,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE DAL opened at $64.46 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.72 and its 200-day moving average is $48.40. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.87 and a 12-month high of $65.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $41.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.33.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The business had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $1,305,148.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,197,608.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total value of $1,077,017.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 121,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,739,564.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $1,305,148.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,197,608.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,240 shares of company stock valued at $8,044,893. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on DAL shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. 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 research note on Monday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.73.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.