Constant Guidance Financial LLC Invests $1.38 Million in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Constant Guidance Financial LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 19,872 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,379,000. Delta Air Lines accounts for about 0.9% of Constant Guidance Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of DAL. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the first quarter worth $178,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth $555,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 102.2% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,825 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 357,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 10.6% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 58,129 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,859,000 after acquiring an additional 5,564 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE DAL opened at $81.66 on Thursday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.28 and a fifty-two week high of $83.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $69.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $53.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.25.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.The company had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is presently 10.93%.

Key Stories Impacting Delta Air Lines

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen and UBS both raised their price targets on Delta, reinforcing confidence that the airline’s earnings outlook and valuation can improve. Delta (DAL) Stock Is Up, What You Need To Know
• Positive Sentiment: UBS lifted its target to $98 and kept a buy rating, citing a more constructive sector outlook; other recent analyst notes also leaned positive for airline profits and stock performance. Why Some Experts Say Airline Profits—and Stocks—Are About To Take Off
• Positive Sentiment: Falling oil prices are easing jet-fuel cost pressure across the airline group, which is helping airline stocks rally broadly. Airline stocks rally as oil retreat eases fuel cost pressure
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta’s executive vice president Allison Ausband disclosed recent stock sales. Insider selling can create some caution, but the transactions were relatively modest compared with Delta’s market value. Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) EVP Allison Ausband Sells 5,000 Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta is also working to improve operations after a rise in flight cancellations, which could matter for summer travel demand, but this is more of an execution issue than an immediate catalyst. Delta’s Flight Cancellations Have Mounted, and It’s Staffing Up to Improve

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on DAL shares. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, April 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Wolfe Research cut their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.89.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 9,710 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $737,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 138,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,552,904. The trade was a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 20,621 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.75, for a total value of $1,500,177.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 120,025 shares in the company, valued at $8,731,818.75. The trade was a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 119,635 shares of company stock worth $8,402,855. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines 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.