Trexquant Investment LP Buys New Shares in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 318,674 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,280,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 2,150 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,555 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Mason & Associates Inc increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 5,088 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,298 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $865,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total transaction of $554,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. This represents a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $2,467,312.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,789 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of 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. StockNews.com lowered Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced 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 research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.29.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $43.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $58.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.38. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.29 and a 52 week high of $69.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion during 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%. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

Delta Air Lines 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.