Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Acquires New Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 42,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,831,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carson Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 5.1% in the first quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 27,734 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,282 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,811 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,770 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264 shares during the period. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC now owns 7,842 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Finally, Altman Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 39,231 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE DAL traded down $0.80 on Friday, hitting $55.54. The stock had a trading volume of 1,862,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,251,375. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $69.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $36.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $50.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.59.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15,507,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.16 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.24% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.36 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Susquehanna set a $65.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total transaction of $1,007,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 97,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,456,379.80. This trade represents a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total transaction of $1,003,684.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 191,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,948,567.98. The trade was a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 98,973 shares of company stock worth $5,541,946. Corporate insiders own 0.88% 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.