Insider Selling: Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) CEO Sells 91,710 Shares of Stock

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $67.10 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.29 and a 1-year high of $69.98. The company has a market capitalization of $43.30 billion, a PE ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.17 and a 200-day moving average of $53.18.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on DAL. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.22.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.