Truffle Hound Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Truffle Hound Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 75,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,538,000. Delta Air Lines accounts for about 1.6% of Truffle Hound Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $328,398,000. Castle Hook Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at $189,296,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $64,577,000. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,414,074,000 after acquiring an additional 749,099 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 325.7% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 592,808 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,865,000 after acquiring an additional 453,547 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DAL. Susquehanna raised 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 note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. The trade was a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total transaction of $554,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,304,291.12. This trade represents a 29.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL stock opened at $46.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $30.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.29 and a 1-year high of $69.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $60.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.02.

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

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.