Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $37.73 Million Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 742,773 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,124 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Delta Air Lines worth $37,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total value of $3,830,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $24,775,004.27. This represents a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $1,305,148.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,197,608.72. The trade was a 52.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893 in the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $61.52 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $60.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.34 and a fifty-two week high of $67.50.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.83.

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.