HFG Advisors Inc. Increases Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

HFG Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,951 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the period. HFG Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 443,435 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $16,407,000 after purchasing an additional 7,537 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 25,684 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $950,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 290,114 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 35,706 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 3,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 390.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 277,445 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $10,265,000 after purchasing an additional 220,890 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock traded down $0.48 on Monday, hitting $46.96. The company had a trading volume of 4,261,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,503,423. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $30.30 billion, a PE ratio of 6.10, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.60 and a 52 week high of $53.86.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 41.89%. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.80 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given 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 a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at $10,672,495.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $2,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 143,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,166,400. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 217,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,672,495.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 178,919 shares of company stock worth $8,834,653. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.