Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 2,995 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lowered its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 78,477 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,995 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $4,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 53,662 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,247,000 after buying an additional 15,009 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 165.9% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 10,682 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 6,664 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 46,849 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,834,000 after acquiring an additional 5,451 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,053,000. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 40,898 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,474,000 after purchasing an additional 4,774 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 7.3 %

NYSE DAL opened at $46.65 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.99. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $37.29 and a one year high of $69.98. The firm has a market cap of $30.15 billion, a PE ratio of 8.75, 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 current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on DAL shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $2,467,312.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,478.21. This trade represents a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 three months, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

About Delta Air Lines

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.