Black Cypress Capital Management LLC Sells 10,364 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Black Cypress Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Delta Air Lines by 20.2%, selling 10,364 shares and holding a total of 40,924 shares as of the latest SEC filing.
• Delta Air Lines announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.1875 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for July 31st, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend of $0.15.
• Institutional investors own approximately 69.93% of Delta Air Lines stock, with notable increases in stakes from firms like Janney Montgomery Scott and Exchange Traded Concepts during the first quarter.

Black Cypress Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 20.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,924 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 10,364 shares during the period. Delta Air Lines makes up 1.6% of Black Cypress Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Black Cypress Capital Management LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DAL. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 5,224.6% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,336,709 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $189,081,000 after buying an additional 4,255,262 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 1,469.9% in the 1st quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 3,309,020 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $144,273,000 after buying an additional 3,098,237 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $122,849,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 405.3% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,054,285 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $184,784,000 after buying an additional 2,449,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,915,545 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $257,918,000 after buying an additional 2,370,795 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DAL shares. Susquehanna Bancshares lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total transaction of $1,969,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,823 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,615,278.44. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total value of $1,003,684.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 191,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,948,567.98. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,973 shares of company stock valued at $7,511,746 over the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL stock traded down $1.3490 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.1510. 3,082,165 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,711,969. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.62 billion, a PE ratio of 8.58, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.56. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.74 and a twelve month high of $69.98. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $53.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.06.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15,507,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.16 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 7.24%.The firm's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is presently 10.87%.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines, Inc provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Salt Lake City, as well as coastal hub positions in Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, and Seattle; and international network centered on hubs and market presence in Amsterdam, Bogota, Lima, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Sao Paulo, Seoul-Incheon, and Tokyo.