Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Sold by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lowered its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,477 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 2,995 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $4,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter worth approximately $281,206,000. Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter valued at $189,296,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth $64,577,000. Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,414,074,000 after acquiring an additional 749,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 325.7% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 592,808 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,865,000 after purchasing an additional 453,547 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 over the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL stock opened at $46.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $30.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.75, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $37.29 and a fifty-two week high of $69.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $63.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.99.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.26%.

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.