Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 114.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,547,251 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 824,152 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.24% of Delta Air Lines worth $107,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,413,841 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,215,766,000 after acquiring an additional 202,865 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 9,496,296 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $659,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834,385 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at $471,532,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 54.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,817,783 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $330,159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,058,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1.3% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,447,917 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $195,669,000 after acquiring an additional 42,878 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total transaction of $2,036,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 69,304 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.15, for a total transaction of $4,723,067.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 69,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,727,497.35. This represents a 49.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 149,635 shares of company stock valued at $10,833,855. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $79.55 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.28 and a 52 week high of $83.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The firm had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 currently 10.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on DAL. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.20 to $79.30 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.85.

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.