Kentucky Retirement Systems Decreases Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,066 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 607 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $2,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 154,956 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,375,000 after buying an additional 11,365 shares during the last quarter. Sunpointe LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth about $417,000. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 63,581 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,847,000 after purchasing an additional 9,335 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $999,000. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 59.6% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 30,297 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,833,000 after purchasing an additional 11,311 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE:DAL opened at $59.88 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $64.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $38.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.36. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.29 and a twelve month high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. 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 is currently 11.26%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total transaction of $447,271.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,455.04. The trade was a 40.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $2,467,312.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,789 shares in the company, valued at $3,425,478.21. This trade represents a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DAL shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.