Trexquant Investment LP Acquires Shares of 318,674 Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 318,674 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,280,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of DAL opened at $43.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.29 and a twelve month high of $69.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value 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 approximately $2,479,212.12. This trade represents a 33.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. 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. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on DAL. StockNews.com lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.29.

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.