Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Stock Holdings Increased by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,631 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,478 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Total Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 3.0% during the third quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth $517,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth $1,052,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5.4% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 268,636 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,644,000 after acquiring an additional 13,802 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL opened at $64.07 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.28 and a 1 year high of $66.25. The firm has a market cap of $41.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.33.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 8.33%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 7,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.62, for a total transaction of $470,276.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,688,130.14. This represents a 11.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total value of $3,830,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,775,004.27. This represents a 13.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on DAL. Barclays boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.22.

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.