Brian Low Financial Group LLC Makes New $778,000 Investment in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Brian Low Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,699 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $778,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the first quarter worth about $178,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter valued at approximately $555,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 102.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,825 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 357,825 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 10.6% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 58,129 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after acquiring an additional 5,564 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 133,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,574,466. This trade represents a 3.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $1,074,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 54,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,364.09. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 149,635 shares of company stock worth $10,833,855. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of DAL stock opened at $90.55 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $75.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.74. The company has a market capitalization of $59.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.30. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.12 and a 12-month high of $90.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.05 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $0.215 dividend. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DAL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.47.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.