Truist Financial Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 160,130 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 11,777 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $9,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of DAL. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at $281,206,000. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at $189,296,000. Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,414,074,000 after acquiring an additional 749,099 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 419.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 562,129 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,551,000 after acquiring an additional 453,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 325.7% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 592,808 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,865,000 after acquiring an additional 453,547 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total value of $447,271.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,455.04. This represents a 40.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,721,357.15. The trade was a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $59.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $38.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.29 and a 1 year high of $69.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $64.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.31.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is presently 11.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.22.

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.