Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 18.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 338,331 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,775 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Delta Air Lines worth $17,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total transaction of $3,830,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $24,775,004.27. The trade was a 13.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. This trade represents a 3.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:DAL opened at $65.14 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.28 and a 12 month high of $66.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $52.17 and its 200-day moving average is $48.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $42.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.33.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The business had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DAL. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BNP Paribas raised Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $71.22.

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.