Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 39.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,707 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,111 shares during the quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 28,167 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 52,620 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,652,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 4,721 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 6,022 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Delta Air Lines

Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target on Delta to $112 and reiterated a buy rating, highlighting further upside after the airline’s strong quarterly performance.
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan also lifted its price target to $114 and kept an overweight rating, reflecting growing analyst confidence in Delta’s earnings outlook.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports pointed to healthy travel demand, premium cabin strength, and resilient cash flow, suggesting Delta can keep growing revenue even in a higher-cost environment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Delta said cheaper jet fuel may not translate into lower airfares, implying pricing power could remain intact and margins may stay supported. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several coverage pieces framed Delta as a value or momentum stock trading at a reasonable valuation, but these are more confirmation than a new catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Rising geopolitical tensions in Iran were flagged as a potential headwind for airline stocks because they could pressure fuel prices and create turbulence for travel demand. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Fuel costs remain a key risk, with Delta noting a sharp jump in fuel expense during the quarter, which could keep margin pressure in focus if energy prices rise again.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $112.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $106.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total value of $395,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 133,854 shares in the company, valued at $10,574,466. This represents a 3.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total transaction of $2,036,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,738,836. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 65,331 shares of company stock worth $5,036,638 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 0.8%

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $85.48 on Wednesday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.44 and a 1-year high of $95.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $81.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.29.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $17.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.43 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 5.79%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 14.26%.

Delta Air Lines Profile

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.