Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys Shares of 38,893 Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 38,893 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $2,353,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 77,756 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,704,000 after buying an additional 29,117 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 321,242 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $18,777,000 after acquiring an additional 8,016 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,955,818 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $602,327,000 after purchasing an additional 2,254,560 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 3,571 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128 shares during the period. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $262,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,889 shares in the company, valued at $2,479,212.12. This represents a 33.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total transaction of $447,271.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,016 shares in the company, valued at $660,455.04. The trade was a 40.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 62,776 shares of company stock worth $4,155,951. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on DAL shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $58.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $46.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com lowered Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.06.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE:DAL opened at $41.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50-day moving average price is $47.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.01. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.74 and a twelve month high of $69.98. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $12.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.85 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company's revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.64%.

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.

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