Huntington National Bank Grows Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Huntington National Bank increased its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL opened at $64.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.34 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.72. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.28 and a 1 year high of $66.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The firm had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.65 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total transaction of $1,077,017.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 121,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,739,564.86. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,499,635.40. This represents a 3.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas raised Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $71.22.

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.