PFG Investments LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

PFG Investments LLC lowered its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,146 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 631 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 9,821 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Guerra Pan Advisors LLC now owns 28,481 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 1,449 shares in the last quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $222,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,401 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth $236,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $68.57 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.70. The stock has a market cap of $44.25 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.35. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.29 and a 1-year high of $69.98. 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 (NYSE:DAL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share 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 30.43%. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $1,305,148.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,197,608.72. This trade represents a 52.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 129,150 shares of company stock worth $8,735,936 in the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised 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 note on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average 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.