River Road Asset Management LLC Has $5.13 Million Stock Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

River Road Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 35.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,738 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 45,870 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $5,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $46.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.29 and a 12 month high of $69.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $63.19 and its 200-day moving average is $57.99.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. 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 $1.28 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on DAL shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total value of $554,568.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at $1,304,291.12. This trade represents a 29.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $2,467,312.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,478.21. The trade was a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.