Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 56,571 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,724,032 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 56,571 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $104,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,478.21. The trade was a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total transaction of $447,271.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,455.04. This represents a 40.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DAL shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective 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. Susquehanna raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. 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 note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.60.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $46.88 on Tuesday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.29 and a 52 week high of $69.98. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $62.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $30.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. Delta Air Lines’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.26%.

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.