Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) EVP Sells $1,500,177.75 in Stock

Key Points

• Delta EVP Alain Bellemare sold 20,621 shares on May 7 at an average price of $72.75, totaling about $1.5 million. After the sale, he still held 120,025 shares, and the transaction reduced his stake by 14.66%.
• Delta reported solid quarterly results, with earnings of $0.64 per share beating estimates of $0.61 and revenue of $14.20 billion topping expectations. Revenue rose 9.4% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 5.3.
• Analyst sentiment remains upbeat, with several firms maintaining buy ratings and a consensus price target of $79.47. Delta also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.1875 per share, payable June 4, for a 1.0% yield.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) EVP Alain Bellemare sold 20,621 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.75, for a total transaction of $1,500,177.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 120,025 shares in the company, valued at $8,731,818.75. This trade represents a 14.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Alain Bellemare also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, February 9th, Alain Bellemare sold 35,212 shares of Delta Air Lines stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.20, for a total transaction of $2,647,942.40.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.31. 5,064,078 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,729,001. The company has a market cap of $48.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $66.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.29. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.28 and a twelve month high of $76.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.The company had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DAL shares. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.20 to $79.30 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Seaport Research Partners upped their price objective 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. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.47.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 137.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,811,787 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $958,538,000 after purchasing an additional 7,994,004 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth $471,532,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,270,241 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $815,726,000 after buying an additional 2,773,945 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 1,579.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,673,400 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $185,534,000 after buying an additional 2,514,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,155,776 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $426,441,000 after buying an additional 1,890,521 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

More Delta Air Lines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on Delta Air Lines to $95 and reiterated a bullish view on the company’s premium-cabin strategy, suggesting stronger earnings potential and improved pricing power ahead. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Delta continues to trade higher since its last earnings report, reflecting investor confidence that recent results and future estimates remain solid. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broader airline conditions may be helping sentiment, as Spirit Airlines’ liquidation has pushed fares sharply higher on some routes, which could support industry pricing for larger carriers like Delta. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market articles also note that airlines are dealing with very high jet fuel costs tied to Middle East disruption, which could pressure margins even as carriers adjust routes and fares. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A court ruling against deceptive fee practices could affect parts of the airline industry, but the articles do not clearly indicate a direct near-term impact on Delta’s results. Article Title

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.

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