Olstein Capital Management L.P. Purchases 43,000 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 175,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,000 shares during the period. Delta Air Lines comprises about 1.5% of Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $8,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.7% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 402,650 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,275,000 after buying an additional 6,915 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 14,006 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $670,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 31,798 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 4,337 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter valued at about $150,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter valued at about $796,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DAL. BNP Paribas upgraded Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Susquehanna upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.40.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,499,635.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 10,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $603,582.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,607,112.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 111,200 shares of company stock valued at $6,269,469. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $62.38. 565,784 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,419,958. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.66, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.33. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $33.31 and a one year high of $62.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.04.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The company had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 8.33%.

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.