Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) is U S Global Investors Inc.’s 4th Largest Position

U S Global Investors Inc. cut its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 19.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,841,470 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 449,432 shares during the period. Delta Air Lines comprises about 11.0% of U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $111,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $938,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,452 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 91,372 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,528,000 after purchasing an additional 37,547 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth $10,408,000. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 85,094 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,638 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL opened at $59.71 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.94. The firm has a market cap of $38.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.36.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.26%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 52,789 shares in the company, valued at $3,425,478.21. The trade was a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on DAL shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Fourteen investment 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, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.22.

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.