Graham Capital Management L.P. Increases Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 782.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,953 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,275 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $3,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 742,773 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,725,000 after purchasing an additional 19,124 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $571,000. Fulton Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth $382,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 73.4% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 659 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 85,891 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,791 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $2,467,312.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. The trade was a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DAL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their target price on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.37.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $48.28 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $44.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $31.52 billion, a PE ratio of 9.06, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.46. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.74 and a 1-year high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.38). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $12.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 10.64%.

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.