GWN Securities Inc. Takes Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,345 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 9,438 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,281,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 176,560 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,682,000 after buying an additional 7,504 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 534.8% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 34,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,074,000 after buying an additional 28,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 14,505 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of Delta Air Lines 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $30,721,357.15. The trade was a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of Delta Air Lines 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 owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. This represents a 29.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $46.60 on Monday. 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 $30.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.34 and a 200-day moving average of $58.08.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays decreased their price target 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 raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.60.

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.