HighVista Strategies LLC Invests $1.89 Million in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

HighVista Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 37,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,889,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.9% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 6,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,645 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 3.0% during the third quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 6.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,198 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was 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 owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,499,635.40. This trade represents a 3.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 7,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.62, for a total value of $470,276.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,897 shares in the company, valued at $3,688,130.14. This represents a 11.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $63.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $56.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.50. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $36.34 and a one year high of $66.25. The stock has a market cap of $40.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 8.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.83.

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.