Insider Selling: Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) EVP Sells $367,500.00 in Stock

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) EVP Allison Ausband sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total transaction of $367,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 138,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,205,769. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:DAL opened at $82.54 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.28 and a fifty-two week high of $83.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.89.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.93%.

Delta Air Lines News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target on Delta Air Lines (DAL) from $84 to $92 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling stronger confidence in the stock’s upside potential. TD Cowen price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Delta shares have also benefited from improving sentiment across airline stocks as oil prices retreated, which can ease fuel-cost pressure and improve airline margins. Airline stocks rally as oil retreats
• Positive Sentiment: Delta continues to attract favorable commentary after recent reports highlighted analyst upgrades and target increases, helping support the stock’s upward move. Delta stock is up, what you need to know
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Ed Bastian defended Delta’s choice of Amazon’s in-flight Wi-Fi service over SpaceX Starlink, a strategic decision that could matter competitively but is not an immediate earnings driver. Delta Amazon Wi-Fi article
• Negative Sentiment: Two Delta executives sold shares this week, including EVP Allison Ausband and EVP Alain Bellemare, which can weigh on sentiment even if insider sales are not always a fundamental warning sign. Ausband SEC filing Bellemare SEC filing

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DAL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter worth $178,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the second quarter worth $555,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 102.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,825 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 357,825 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 58,129 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after acquiring an additional 5,564 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DAL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Seaport Research Partners lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.22.

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.