Dark Forest Capital Management LP Grows Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 802.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,726 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 46,881 shares during the quarter. Delta Air Lines comprises about 0.5% of Dark Forest Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $3,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 2,150 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,555 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $554,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Mason & Associates Inc boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 5,088 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,298 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $865,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total value of $447,271.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $660,455.04. This represents a 40.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $2,467,312.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,425,478.21. This trade represents a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 62,776 shares of company stock valued at $4,155,951. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $40.35 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.23. The company has a market cap of $26.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.74 and a twelve month high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.38). Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The business had revenue of $12.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is 10.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group downgraded Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $77.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Dbs Bank downgraded Delta Air Lines from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.06.

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.

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