Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Sets New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $49.94 and last traded at $49.79, with a volume of 9848728 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $47.94.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TheStreet upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.29.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.0 %

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 business has a fifty day moving average of $45.03 and a 200 day moving average of $40.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.43.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The company had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total transaction of $1,176,206.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,911,295.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 217,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,672,495.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $1,176,206.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,911,295.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 195,913 shares of company stock worth $8,897,335 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 495.7% in the third quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 396.6% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 55.2% in the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 874 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 26,166.7% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 788 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% 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.