Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Increases Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 323.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 82,716 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,175 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $5,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in DAL. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE:DAL opened at $43.80 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.29 and a 12-month high of $69.98. The firm has a market cap of $28.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $58.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. 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 report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays decreased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.29.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $2,467,312.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. The trade was a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.