Insider Selling: Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) EVP Sells $3,785,033.00 in Stock

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) EVP Steven Sear sold 40,460 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.55, for a total value of $3,785,033.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 104,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,766,994.20. This represents a 27.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

DAL traded down $1.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $92.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,765,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,327,541. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.57 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.31. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.88 and a fifty-two week high of $95.68.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $17.67 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were given a $0.215 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 14.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Argus set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Seaport Research Partners boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Monday. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.40.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,211,101 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,680,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012,265 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,163,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,607,557,000 after acquiring an additional 165,729 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,413,841 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,215,766,000 after purchasing an additional 202,865 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 137.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,811,787 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $958,538,000 after buying an additional 7,994,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,182,646,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Delta Air Lines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Falling crude oil prices could reduce Delta’s jet-fuel expenses, supporting profit margins and potentially strengthening travel demand if the decline persists. Oil Just Lost its Inflation Premium: Here’s Who Wins if Prices Stay Low
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks characterized DAL as both a strong momentum stock and a long-term value opportunity. The company’s recent operating performance, including quarterly revenue growth and an earnings beat, supports the bullish case, although the stock’s roughly 77% one-year gain may limit further upside from valuation expansion. Why Delta Air Lines Is a Strong Momentum Stock Why Delta Air Lines Is a Top Value Stock for the Long Term
• Positive Sentiment: A comparison of Delta with American Airlines favors Delta based on a key loyalty-program differentiator, reinforcing the view that SkyMiles and customer engagement could provide a competitive advantage. Better Airline Stock: Delta vs. American
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $100.40. Delta also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.215 per share, but these developments appear largely reflected in the recent rally. Delta Air Lines analyst and company information
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Edward Bastian sold 206,510 shares for approximately $19.2 million, while President Peter Carter, EVP Alain Bellemare and Director David Dewalt also sold shares. Dewalt’s sale reduced his holdings by about 58.7%. Although the executives retain substantial ownership and sales may be for diversification or tax planning, the cluster of transactions can signal reduced insider conviction and add selling pressure. Delta CEO Sells $19.2 Million of Shares

Delta Air Lines Company 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.