River Road Asset Management LLC Buys 24,249 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

River Road Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 130,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 24,249 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $6,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DAL. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth $36,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DAL. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $65.40.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $58.29 on Wednesday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $32.46 and a one year high of $59.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $49.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.61 billion, a PE ratio of 8.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.33.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $173,128.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 10,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $603,582.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,459 shares in the company, valued at $4,607,112.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares in the company, valued at $5,499,635.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,200 shares of company stock valued at $6,269,469. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.