Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) EVP Allison Ausband Sells 5,000 Shares

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) EVP Allison Ausband sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 133,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,574,466. This represents a 3.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $82.54. The company had a trading volume of 7,685,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,322,021. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $54.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.72. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.28 and a 1-year high of $83.75.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% during the 3rd quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.22.

Key Delta Air Lines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen lifted its price target on Delta Air Lines (DAL) to $92 from $84 and kept a Buy rating, signaling confidence in further upside. TD Cowen adjusts price target on Delta Air Lines to $92 from $84, maintains Buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Earlier in the week, both TD Cowen and UBS reportedly raised their price targets on Delta, helping fuel the rally as investors responded to improving analyst sentiment. Delta (DAL) Stock Is Up, What You Need To Know
• Positive Sentiment: Airline stocks broadly benefited as oil prices retreated, easing fuel-cost pressure for carriers like Delta and improving near-term margin expectations. Airline stocks rally as oil retreat eases fuel cost pressure
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta also disclosed recent insider share sales by EVP Allison Ausband, which may be viewed as routine portfolio activity but could temper enthusiasm somewhat. Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) EVP Allison Ausband Sells 5,000 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.