Olstein Capital Management L.P. Cuts Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Olstein Capital Management L.P. lessened its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 30.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 72,000 shares during the quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $8,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 396.6% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 26,166.7% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 788 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 122.5% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 821 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, Nordwand Advisors LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. HSBC started coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.80 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $60.30.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of DAL traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $47.39. The company had a trading volume of 3,543,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,469,576. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $30.60 and a 52-week high of $53.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.41.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 41.89%. The firm had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $10,672,495.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Delta Air Lines news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $4,905,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 217,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,672,495.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,911,295.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 178,919 shares of company stock worth $8,834,653. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Delta Air Lines 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.