Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Sold by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,339 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,017 shares during the quarter. Delta Air Lines comprises about 0.6% of Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $328,398,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $152,342,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth $64,577,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,410,242 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,380,820,000 after purchasing an additional 456,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 325.7% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 592,808 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $35,865,000 after purchasing an additional 453,547 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on DAL. StockNews.com cut shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.29.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total value of $554,568.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. The trade was a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $43.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.18. The company has a market cap of $28.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.29 and a 1-year high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 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.