Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $37.73 Million Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 742,773 shares of the transportation company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,124 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Delta Air Lines worth $37,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

DAL traded up $1.04 on Tuesday, reaching $62.56. The company had a trading volume of 3,218,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,173,564. The stock has a market cap of $40.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.39. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.34 and a fifty-two week high of $67.50. The company's fifty day moving average is $60.68 and its 200 day moving average is $50.73.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The firm had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. Delta Air Lines's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $1,305,148.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at $1,197,608.72. This trade represents a 52.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total transaction of $1,077,017.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 121,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,739,564.86. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,240 shares of company stock valued at $8,044,893 over the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas raised Delta Air Lines to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.83.

About Delta Air Lines

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.