Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Hits New 1-Year High After Dividend Announcement

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $49.94 and last traded at $49.79, with a volume of 9848728 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.94.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 5.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on DAL. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $58.29.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $44.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.20 billion, a PE ratio of 6.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 41.89%. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $1,176,206.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,911,295.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $1,176,206.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at $6,911,295.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 71,840 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.20, for a total transaction of $2,816,128.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 428,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,807,705.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 195,913 shares of company stock valued at $8,897,335. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,145 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 8,146 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Wahed Invest LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Navalign LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Navalign LLC now owns 17,402 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,240 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

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.