Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 747,998 shares of the transportation company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,577 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Delta Air Lines worth $49,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 39.4% during the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 28,707 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,964,000 after purchasing an additional 8,111 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 99.5% in the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 6,082 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 3,034 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 9,840 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter worth approximately $347,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 151,314 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $10,059,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on DAL. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $106.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.40.

Key Headlines Impacting Delta Air Lines

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

• Positive Sentiment: Delta and United both posted better-than-expected Q2 results, reinforcing that travel demand remains resilient and helping improve sentiment toward airline shares. Delta vs. United Airlines Stock: Which Is the Better Buy After Q2 Earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: Delta is being viewed as a beneficiary of strong fare pricing, especially in premium travel, which could support revenue and earnings even if overall demand normalizes. Delta’s Higher Fares And Shelf Offering Could Be A Game Changer For Delta Air Lines (DAL)
• Positive Sentiment: Another article highlighted that Delta is resetting fares higher as premium and corporate travel holds up, suggesting pricing power remains intact despite higher fuel costs. Delta (DAL) Is Resetting Fares Higher As Premium Travel Demand Holds Up
• Positive Sentiment: Industry commentary also pointed to Delta as a long-term momentum name, which can add to bullish investor interest after recent earnings strength. Why Delta Air Lines (DAL) is a top momentum stock for the long term
• Neutral Sentiment: Peers are still warning that higher jet fuel costs could pressure margins, so investors are balancing stronger demand against a potentially tougher cost backdrop. UAL Q2 Earnings Beat as Strong Yields Offset Fuel Pressure
• Neutral Sentiment: San Antonio’s airport expansion plan is a broader infrastructure development story and is not a direct catalyst for Delta, though it reflects continued airport investment in the travel market. San Antonio to Borrow $944 Million for Major Airport Expansion
• Negative Sentiment: News about Delta extending refund-policy flexibility on some international routes underscores ongoing geopolitical disruption that could weigh on operations and booking trends. Major airline extends refund policy for Dubai flights

Insider Activity

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,738,836. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 9,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $737,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 138,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,552,904. This trade represents a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 65,331 shares of company stock valued at $5,036,638. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $84.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $55.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $82.50 and its 200 day moving average is $73.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.44 and a 52-week high of $95.68.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.07. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 17.52%. The business had revenue of $17.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $0.215 dividend. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.26%.

About Delta Air Lines

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.