Pzena Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• Pzena Investment Management cut its Delta Air Lines stake by 5.9% in the first quarter, selling 175,126 shares and leaving it with 2.81 million shares valued at about $186.7 million.
• Delta’s latest earnings beat estimates, with Q1 EPS of $0.64 versus $0.61 expected and revenue of $14.2 billion topping forecasts; revenue also rose 9.4% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.215 per share from $0.19, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.80.

Pzena Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,807,667 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 175,126 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned about 0.43% of Delta Air Lines worth $186,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% during the 3rd quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. HSBC cut their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.20 to $79.30 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $79.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total transaction of $2,036,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 95,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,738,836. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 69,304 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.15, for a total transaction of $4,723,067.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 69,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,727,497.35. This represents a 49.98% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 149,635 shares of company stock worth $10,833,855 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 0.7%

DAL opened at $93.00 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock's fifty day moving average is $78.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.60. The company has a market capitalization of $61.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.29. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.24 and a 52 week high of $95.14.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.05 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.215 per share. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.93%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DAL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.