Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Buys 11,808 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 253,699 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,808 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $12,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 26,166.7% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 788 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 122.5% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 821 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. Nordwand Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DAL. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.80 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $60.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Willie Cw Chiang purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $43.90 per share, with a total value of $439,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $878,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.81. 5,340,426 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,505,685. The stock has a market cap of $26.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.87, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.82 and its 200-day moving average is $45.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.60 and a 12 month high of $53.86.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The transportation company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by ($0.01). Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.46% and a return on equity of 36.02%. The business had revenue of $15.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.26 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 30th. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.63%.

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.