Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL Stake Reduced by Lansdowne Partners UK LLP

Key Points

• Lansdowne Partners UK LLP reduced its stake in Delta Air Lines by 41.2%, owning approximately 2.02 million shares after selling 1.42 million shares in the first quarter.
• Delta Air Lines reported an EPS of $2.10 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, but its revenue dropped 0.1% year-over-year, totaling $15.5 billion.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.15 to $0.1875, representing a yield of 1.2% and signaling financial confidence.

Lansdowne Partners UK LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 41.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,024,999 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 1,420,448 shares during the quarter. Delta Air Lines accounts for about 12.5% of Lansdowne Partners UK LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Lansdowne Partners UK LLP owned approximately 0.31% of Delta Air Lines worth $88,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5.9% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 161,395 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $7,037,000 after acquiring an additional 9,034 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,690,361 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $160,900,000 after acquiring an additional 92,772 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 152.3% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,567 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 7,586 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 39,374 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,670,000 after acquiring an additional 2,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,169.4% during the first quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 6,677 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL stock opened at $61.25 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $54.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.85. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $69.98. The company has a market cap of $39.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.56.

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

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is presently 10.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on DAL. Citigroup lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.50 and gave the stock 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 stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group set a $72.00 price target on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total value of $1,969,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at $35,615,278.44. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total value of $1,007,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 97,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,456,379.80. The trade was a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 136,473 shares of company stock valued at $7,663,496 over the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.

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