Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 154,956 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 11,365 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $9,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of DAL. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,414,074,000 after acquiring an additional 749,099 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,501,936 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $789,452,000 after purchasing an additional 416,338 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter worth $281,206,000. Castle Hook Partners LP purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter valued at $189,296,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 0.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,497,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $177,637,000 after buying an additional 10,332 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $1,241,367.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,889 shares in the company, valued at $2,479,212.12. The trade was a 33.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total transaction of $554,568.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,304,291.12. The trade was a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.22.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 6.1 %

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $59.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.29 and a 1 year high of $69.98. The company has a market cap of $38.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $64.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.44.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its earnings results 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. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.26%.

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.