Retirement Systems of Alabama Buys 453,547 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 325.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 592,808 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 453,547 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $35,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of DAL. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $69.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $44.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.36. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.29 and a 1-year high of $69.98. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.41.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.43% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $1,305,148.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,197,608.72. The trade was a 52.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 128,423 shares of company stock worth $8,712,931. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna lifted their price target 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. Barclays boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.22.

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.