NewEdge Wealth LLC Lowers Stock Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

NewEdge Wealth LLC trimmed its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 16.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,045 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 7,329 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $2,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 107,173 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $7,438,000 after purchasing an additional 19,829 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 53.2% in the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 92,142 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,395,000 after purchasing an additional 32,014 shares during the last quarter. Tredje AP fonden raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,563.4% during the 4th quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 466,797 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,396,000 after buying an additional 438,735 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 154.8% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 192,384 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,351,000 after purchasing an additional 116,891 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 720,421 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $49,997,000 after buying an additional 17,316 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Key Delta Air Lines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Delta continues to draw investor interest as a major U.S. carrier with a strong Atlanta hub and ongoing travel demand support, which can help keep sentiment constructive around the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Delta has also been trading with relatively low implied volatility, suggesting options are inexpensive and that traders may be positioning for a move higher or a stable range. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta reportedly outperformed other airline stocks even as the broader group weakened, indicating relative strength rather than a clear company-specific catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Rising jet fuel prices are pressuring U.S. airline earnings forecasts, and Delta has already flagged fuel expense as a key margin headwind, which is weighing on airline shares. Article Title

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 5,000 shares of the 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 owned 133,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,574,466. This represents a 3.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares in the company, valued at $7,738,836. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 65,331 shares of company stock worth $5,036,638 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on DAL. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Raymond James Financial cut Delta Air Lines from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $100.40.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE DAL opened at $85.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $55.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $83.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.42. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 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 the consensus estimate of $17.43 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 17.52%. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 14.26%.

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.