Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL Stock Sold by Hosking Partners LLP

Key Points

• Hosking Partners reduced its Delta Air Lines stake by 11% in the third quarter, selling 57,540 shares and retaining 464,629 shares worth approximately $38.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 69.9% of Delta.
• Delta reported quarterly EPS of $1.72 and revenue of $17.59 billion, slightly below analyst expectations, while reducing full-year earnings guidance because of elevated fuel costs. The company expects fourth-quarter EPS of $1.15–$1.65.
• Despite cost pressures and recent insider selling, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $99.65, compared with shares trading near $77.71; Delta also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.215 per share.

Hosking Partners LLP cut its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 464,629 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 57,540 shares during the quarter. Delta Air Lines makes up approximately 1.3% of Hosking Partners LLP's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Hosking Partners LLP owned about 0.07% of Delta Air Lines worth $38,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.4% during the third quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 32,544 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,716,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 11.8% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,695 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the period. Revisor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter worth $279,000. 55 North Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 10.9% in the third quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,582 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 0.9% in the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,118 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,679,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Key Delta Air Lines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong airline-sector outlook: United Airlines’ forecast for record revenue helped lift the broader airline group, including Delta. The outlook suggests resilient travel demand may offset some pressure from elevated fuel expenses. United Airlines revenue forecast article
• Positive Sentiment: Fuel-cost relief supported sentiment: A pullback in crude oil prices improved the near-term margin outlook for airlines. Delta previously indicated that fuel was the primary reason it reduced full-year earnings expectations, making any further energy-market relief potentially beneficial. Why Delta Air Lines stock is up today
• Positive Sentiment: Potential fleet and valuation catalysts: Boeing’s certification of the 737 MAX 10 removes a delivery bottleneck affecting some of Delta’s aircraft orders and could support fleet modernization over time. Analysts tracked in the coverage have a median price target of $105, well above the recent share price near $78. Boeing 737 MAX 10 approval article
• Neutral Sentiment: Demand remains constructive but guidance was reset: Delta expects fourth-quarter revenue growth of roughly 20%, although its latest quarterly EPS and revenue slightly missed estimates and full-year earnings guidance was reduced because of fuel costs.
• Negative Sentiment: Fuel and insider-selling risks persist: Higher fuel prices could continue to compress margins, while the cited insider-trading data showed six open-market sales and no purchases during the past six months. These factors may limit the stock’s upside if airline cost pressures intensify. Delta insider trading data

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL opened at $77.71 on Thursday. 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 has a market cap of $51.12 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.34. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $95.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.57.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 9th. The transportation company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.77 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $17.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.64 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 16.83% and a net margin of 4.58%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.2150 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.17%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, Director David G. Dewalt sold 31,756 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.85, for a total transaction of $2,885,032.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,358 shares in the company, valued at $2,031,224.30. This represents a 58.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.72, for a total transaction of $3,245,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 95,025 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,718. This represents a 26.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 356,726 shares of company stock valued at $33,081,037 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on DAL shares. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $106.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Evercore raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $105.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.65.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines, Inc is a major U.S. airline headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The company provides scheduled passenger air transportation to destinations across the United States and international markets, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, Canada, Africa and the Caribbean. Delta operates through a network of hubs and focus cities, offering service under the Delta brand and through regional partners operating as Delta Connection.

In addition to passenger flights, Delta provides air cargo transportation and related logistics services.

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