Norden Group LLC Increases Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Norden Group LLC grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 714.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 112,048 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 98,285 shares during the quarter. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $5,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American International Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 181,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,783 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 132.3% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 466,741 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $18,777,000 after purchasing an additional 265,852 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,241,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 325.5% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 77,647 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,124,000 after buying an additional 59,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the first quarter valued at approximately $749,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of DAL opened at $47.35 on Thursday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.60 and a 1 year high of $53.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $30.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.35.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 41.89%. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 5.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, HSBC began coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.80 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total transaction of $253,445.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 112,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,879,618.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total transaction of $253,445.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 112,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,879,618.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie Cw Chiang purchased 10,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $49.50 per share, for a total transaction of $495,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 178,919 shares of company stock worth $8,834,653. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.