National Bank of Canada FI Cuts Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 32.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 339,830 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 166,572 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $17,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 625,025 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,145,000 after purchasing an additional 26,364 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $291,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.70.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:DAL traded down $0.67 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $42.94. 7,114,329 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,772,284. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.77. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.60 and a twelve month high of $53.86. The company has a market capitalization of $27.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.18, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.35.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The transportation company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by ($0.01). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 36.02% and a net margin of 7.46%. The firm had revenue of $15.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.26 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.76%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $2,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,166,400. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $2,500,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,166,400. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie Cw Chiang bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.50 per share, for a total transaction of $495,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines 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.