Allison Ausband Sells 9,710 Shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock

Key Points

• Delta EVP Allison Ausband sold 9,710 shares on May 22 at an average price of $76.00, for proceeds of about $737,960. After the sale, she still owned 138,854 shares, valued at roughly $10.55 million.
• Delta’s stock rose 4.3% in the session, trading near its 52-week high at $79.39, as the company’s market cap reached about $52.16 billion.
• The airline reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue expectations, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $79.89.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) EVP Allison Ausband sold 9,710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $737,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 138,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,552,904. The trade was a 6.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 4.3%

NYSE DAL traded up $3.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $79.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,466,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,331,501. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.28 and a 52 week high of $79.59. The company has a market capitalization of $52.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.25. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $68.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.41.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is currently 10.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DAL shares. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Monday, March 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.89.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 90.6% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC lifted 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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