Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Makes New $2.95 Million Investment in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 48,824 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,954,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter worth about $517,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 12.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 169,056 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,587,000 after purchasing an additional 19,350 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.7% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 478,900 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $24,323,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth about $453,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 8.4% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 56,926 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,891,000 after buying an additional 4,413 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on DAL. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.29.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE DAL opened at $47.78 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.96, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.29 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.50 and a 200 day moving average of $58.07.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 11.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. The trade was a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total value of $554,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. The trade was a 29.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.