Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Sets New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock 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 $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $58.29.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 0.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.18. The company has a market capitalization of $32.20 billion, a PE ratio of 6.41, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.43.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 41.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $4,905,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 217,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,672,495.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $4,905,000.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,672,495.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total transaction of $1,176,206.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,911,295.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 195,913 shares of company stock valued at $8,897,335 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,936,699 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $842,283,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689,053 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,981,124 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $602,691,000 after acquiring an additional 79,818 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 8.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,839,122 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $401,048,000 after acquiring an additional 865,746 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 220.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,600,741 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $346,008,000 after acquiring an additional 5,914,301 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,374,052 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $336,908,000 after acquiring an additional 826,232 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.