Blue Grotto Capital LLC Purchases New Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Blue Grotto Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 414,069 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,051,000. Delta Air Lines comprises about 4.6% of Blue Grotto Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 52,390 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,432 shares in the last quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 17,810 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 41,790 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,528,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 221,115 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,377,000 after purchasing an additional 9,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $2,467,312.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. This represents a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:DAL opened at $48.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $31.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.13, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.29 and a 12-month high of $69.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

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.