L & S Advisors Inc Takes Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

L & S Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 74,942 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $4,534,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,410,242 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,380,820,000 after buying an additional 456,465 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,501,936 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $789,452,000 after purchasing an additional 416,338 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $328,398,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,597,589 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $217,654,000 after acquiring an additional 100,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,544,750 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $214,457,000 after acquiring an additional 274,067 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Delta Air Lines Stock Down 8.7 %

Shares of DAL traded down $3.79 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $39.58. The company had a trading volume of 9,027,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,323,875. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.29 and a 52-week high of $69.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DAL. Citigroup cut their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays cut their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $46.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $71.49.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction 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 approximately $30,721,357.15. The trade was a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total value of $447,271.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $660,455.04. This trade represents a 40.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463 over the last quarter. Company 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.