Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL Holdings Reduced by Sanders Capital LLC

Key Points

• Sanders Capital trimmed its Delta Air Lines stake by 0.4% in the third quarter, selling 115,978 shares. It still held about 29.0 million shares, valued at roughly $2.42 billion.
• Delta President Peter Carter and CEO Edward Bastian reported stock sales totaling about $8.1 million; both retained substantial holdings after the transactions.
• Delta’s latest quarter fell slightly short of analyst expectations, with EPS of $1.72 versus $1.77 expected and revenue of $17.59 billion versus $17.64 billion expected. Revenue increased 21.1% year over year, and analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy.”

Sanders Capital LLC cut its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,013,651 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 115,978 shares during the period. Delta Air Lines makes up approximately 2.4% of Sanders Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Sanders Capital LLC owned 4.41% of Delta Air Lines worth $2,421,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Markowski Investments acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Timbuktu Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 195.9% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Atlas Wealth LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, President Peter W. Carter sold 44,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.29, for a total value of $4,013,585.50. Following the sale, the president directly owned 379,754 shares in the company, valued at $33,908,234.66. This represents a 10.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.00, for a total value of $4,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,313,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $107,702,736. This represents a 3.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock traded up $2.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $87.36. 6,120,664 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,057,670. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $80.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.12. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.27 and a twelve month high of $95.68. The company has a market cap of $57.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.43.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 9th. The transportation company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by ($0.05). Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 16.83%. The business had revenue of $17.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. The business's revenue was up 21.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Delta Air Lines has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.150-1.650 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.600 EPS. Analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 15th were paid a $0.2150 dividend. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 15th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on DAL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Monday, October 19th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Delta Air Lines from $105.00 to $102.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.65.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

Delta Air Lines is a U.S.-based airline that provides passenger and cargo transportation. It serves domestic and international destinations through its own flights and relationships with partner airlines, with major hubs including Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, New York, and Salt Lake City.

The company offers multiple cabin and fare options, including Delta One, First Class, Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin. Its other businesses and services include Delta Cargo, the SkyMiles loyalty program, and aircraft maintenance and repair services through Delta TechOps.

Delta traces its roots to Huff Daland Dusters, an aerial crop-dusting company established in 1925, and began carrying passengers in 1929.

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