Picton Mahoney Asset Management Grows Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 534.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,280 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 28,880 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $2,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position 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 period. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 6.1 %

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $46.60 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $30.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.96.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DAL shares. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.60.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $2,467,312.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. This trade represents a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463 over the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines 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.