Norges Bank Takes Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,518,046 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $152,342,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.39% of Delta Air Lines as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE DAL opened at $43.62 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $58.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.38. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.29 and a 52 week high of $69.98. The stock has a market cap of $28.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DAL. 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. StockNews.com downgraded Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays dropped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,479,212.12. The trade was a 33.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 over the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.