Virtus ETF Advisers LLC Purchases New Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 20,776 shares of the transportation company's stock, valued at approximately $1,257,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Invst LLC increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.2% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 43,929 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,231,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter worth approximately $301,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 7.9% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 9,111 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 31.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 82,635 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $4,197,000 after purchasing an additional 19,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 55.1% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 53,480 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,716,000 after purchasing an additional 19,000 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.08. 6,324,934 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,219,943. 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 fifty-two week low of $34.74 and a fifty-two week high of $69.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $46.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.03.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.38). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $12.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on DAL shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Dbs Bank cut Delta Air Lines from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 trade represents a 40.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,789 shares in the company, valued at $3,425,478.21. This trade represents a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 62,776 shares of company stock valued at $4,155,951 in the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.