BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Trims Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S cut its Delta Air Lines stake by 85.7% in the first quarter, selling more than 519,000 shares and leaving it with 86,774 shares worth about $5.77 million.
• Several analysts turned more bullish on Delta, with firms including Bank of America, Sanford C. Bernstein, Argus, and Morgan Stanley raising price targets while maintaining buy or overweight ratings. The stock’s consensus rating remains Moderate Buy.
• Delta reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.64 topping estimates and revenue of $14.20 billion beating forecasts. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.215 per share.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S reduced its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 85.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,774 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 519,570 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $5,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 457,796 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $25,980,000 after acquiring an additional 56,365 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,041,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 22.7% during the fourth 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 last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 53.2% during 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. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 66.0% during the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 911,136 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $51,707,000 after purchasing an additional 362,329 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 9,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value 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. This represents a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total transaction of $2,036,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,738,836. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 149,635 shares of company stock worth $10,833,855. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.30.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $86.12 on Tuesday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1-year low of $45.28 and a 1-year high of $87.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $75.05 and a 200-day moving average of $70.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $56.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.55, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.30.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.05 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders 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 an increase from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.93%.

Key Delta Air Lines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Delta Air Lines to $93 from $78 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling confidence in upside from current levels. Article: Bank of America raises Delta price target
• Positive Sentiment: Argus also boosted its price target on DAL to $100 from $85 and maintained a buy rating, reinforcing the bullish analyst outlook. Article: Argus raises Delta price target
• Positive Sentiment: Delta shareholders backed the existing board and governance structure at the annual meeting, reducing uncertainty around corporate oversight. Article: Delta shareholders back board, governance status quo
• Positive Sentiment: Delta approved a 15% increase in its quarterly dividend, a sign management is confident in cash generation and financial strength. Article: Delta lifts dividend 15% while upgrading 737s
• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a new large position in Delta Air Lines, adding an influential long-term investor to the shareholder base. Article: Berkshire buys Delta stake

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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