Janus Henderson Group PLC Decreases Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Janus Henderson Group cut its Delta Air Lines stake by 17.1% in the first quarter, selling 185,935 shares and retaining 903,471 shares valued at approximately $60.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 69.93% of DAL.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with 23 analysts rating Delta a Buy and two assigning a Hold rating. The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $100.40, above its reported opening price of $87.53.
• Delta exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $1.56 versus the $1.49 consensus and revenue of $17.67 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.215 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $0.86 and a 1.0% yield.

Janus Henderson Group PLC lowered its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 17.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 903,471 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 185,935 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.14% of Delta Air Lines worth $60,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% in the third quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 451.6% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 524 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on DAL. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $112.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $80.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.40.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL stock opened at $87.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.42. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.44 and a 1 year high of $95.68. The firm has a market cap of $57.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.12.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $17.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.43 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 5.79%.Delta Air Lines's revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were paid a dividend of $0.215 per share. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is presently 14.26%.

Delta Air Lines News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts remain optimistic about Delta’s prospects, with coverage emphasizing the stock’s market outperformance and favorable recommendations. This supports investor confidence, although the reports provide limited new fundamental information. Do Wall Street Analysts Like Delta Air Lines Stock? Do Wall Street Analysts Like Delta Air Lines Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: A Delta partnership with DraftKings will offer customers a free-to-play sports knowledge contest. The initiative could modestly strengthen customer engagement and ancillary revenue opportunities, but its direct financial effect is likely limited. Delta, DraftKings partner on free-to-play sports knowledge contest
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta has attracted elevated attention from Zacks users, while broker commentary continues to favor the stock. The increased visibility may support trading interest, but it does not represent a new earnings or operating catalyst. Delta Air Lines Is a Trending Stock Brokers Suggest Investing in Delta
• Neutral Sentiment: Boeing narrowly led Airbus in orders at the Farnborough Airshow. A healthier Boeing could eventually improve aircraft supply and fleet-planning flexibility for airlines such as Delta, but the development has no immediate, material impact on DAL. Airlines Are Still Willing to Bet on Boeing

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 9,710 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $737,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 138,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,552,904. The trade was a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $2,036,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 95,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,738,836. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 65,331 shares of company stock worth $5,036,638 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines 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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