Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Takes $918,000 Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,800 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $918,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DAL. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,211,101 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,680,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012,265 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,163,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,607,557,000 after buying an additional 165,729 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,413,841 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,215,766,000 after acquiring an additional 202,865 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 137.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,811,787 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $958,538,000 after purchasing an additional 7,994,004 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,182,646,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE DAL opened at $83.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $54.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $95.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $87.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.57.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.07. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 5.79%.The firm had revenue of $17.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.215 per share. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is presently 14.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Delta Air Lines from $104.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Argus set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David G. Dewalt sold 31,756 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.85, for a total value of $2,885,032.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,031,224.30. This represents a 58.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 40,460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.55, for a total transaction of $3,785,033.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 104,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,766,994.20. This represents a 27.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 356,726 shares of company stock worth $33,081,037 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.