Rakuten Securities Inc. Lowers Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Rakuten Securities Inc. lowered its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 35.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 442 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 241 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $27,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $43.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.58 and its 200 day moving average is $57.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.29 and a 52-week high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on DAL. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price 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. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total value of $554,568.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. This represents a 29.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $1,241,367.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,479,212.12. The trade was a 33.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

About Delta Air Lines

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.