BluePath Capital Management LLC Has $507,000 Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

BluePath Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 22.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,596 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 575 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 122.5% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 821 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordwand Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DAL traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $47.35. 3,543,202 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,469,576. The firm has a market cap of $30.56 billion, a PE ratio of 6.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.60 and a fifty-two week high of $53.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.26.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is presently 5.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 112,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,879,618.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 217,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,672,495.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 178,919 shares of company stock worth $8,834,653. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on DAL shares. HSBC assumed coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.80 price target on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.30.

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.