Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Invests $457,000 in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 6,585 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DAL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 33.5% during the 4th 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 acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $178,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $555,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 102.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,825 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 357,825 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 58,129 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after purchasing an additional 5,564 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 69,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 69,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,727,497.35. This represents a 49.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $2,036,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,738,836. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 149,635 shares of company stock valued at $10,833,855 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on DAL shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Argus boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.22.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:DAL opened at $82.49 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.28 and a twelve month high of $83.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $70.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.99. The company has a market cap of $54.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.25.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

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

Delta Air Lines News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target on Delta Air Lines from $84 to $92 and reiterated a buy rating, reinforcing expectations for further upside in the shares. TD Cowen price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Airline stocks are benefiting from strong travel demand and a more favorable fuel-cost backdrop as oil prices have eased from recent highs, which can help Delta’s margins. Air travel demand and airfare article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent market coverage highlighted that Delta shares have been supported by analyst upgrades and higher price targets, reflecting improving confidence in the company’s earnings outlook. Delta stock is up article
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta’s CEO defended the carrier’s choice of Amazon’s in-flight Wi-Fi service over SpaceX Starlink, a strategic decision that may matter competitively but is not an immediate financial catalyst. Delta Wi-Fi strategy article
• Negative Sentiment: Two recent insider sales by Delta executives, including EVP Allison Ausband and EVP Alain Bellemare, may modestly pressure sentiment even though insider selling is not always a fundamental red flag. Ausband SEC filing Bellemare SEC filing

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.