RBF Capital LLC Sells 20,000 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Key Points

• RBF Capital LLC trimmed its Delta Air Lines position by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 20,000 shares and leaving it with 150,000 shares valued at about $10.4 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other large investors holding nearly 70% of Delta’s stock, while several firms recently increased their stakes.
• Delta has seen mixed but generally favorable signals: analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average target of $80.85, and recent news includes the closure of a federal probe into the 2024 IT outage without penalties plus a new $2.65 billion credit facility that boosts liquidity.

RBF Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,000 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. RBF Capital LLC's holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $10,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,211,101 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,680,249,000 after buying an additional 1,012,265 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,163,644 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,607,557,000 after buying an additional 165,729 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,413,841 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,215,766,000 after buying an additional 202,865 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,310,804 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $854,370,000 after buying an additional 56,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 9,496,296 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $659,043,000 after buying an additional 1,834,385 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 69,304 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.15, for a total transaction of $4,723,067.60. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 9,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $737,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 138,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,552,904. This represents a 6.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 149,635 shares of company stock valued at $10,833,855. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HSBC decreased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.85.

Delta Air Lines News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Department of Transportation closed its investigation into Delta’s handling of the 2024 global IT outage without seeking penalties, removing a potential overhang and reducing legal risk for the airline. US closes probe into 2024 Delta Air Lines meltdown sparked by CrowdStrike outage
• Positive Sentiment: Delta secured a new $2.65 billion undrawn revolving credit facility, which improves liquidity and supports the company’s financial flexibility if travel conditions weaken. Delta Air Lines (DAL) Stock Could Be 20% Below Fair Value After Liquidity Boost
• Positive Sentiment: Several market-watch articles continue to highlight Delta as an undervalued long-term stock, reflecting ongoing analyst and investor optimism about earnings prospects and valuation. Delta Air Lines (DAL) Might Drop Safran SA, Reports Bloomberg
• Neutral Sentiment: Bloomberg reported Delta may replace Safran as the supplier for new business-class suites on key transcontinental routes after delays, but this is more of an operational sourcing issue than an immediate earnings driver. Delta Air Lines (DAL) Might Drop Safran SA, Reports Bloomberg
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta’s recent share gains have been supported by broader airline optimism tied to easing geopolitical concerns and stronger industry sentiment, though the latest move in the stock has been modest. Delta Air Lines (DAL) Advances But Underperforms Market: Key Facts
• Negative Sentiment: Airline coverage noted that some Middle East route disruptions remain in place amid regional security concerns, which could continue to weigh on international operations if the situation worsens. Low-cost airline cancels all flights to country until October, refunds available

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 1.2%

DAL opened at $83.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $54.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $73.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.89. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a one year low of $45.28 and a one year high of $87.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.20 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.37 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.93%.

About Delta Air Lines

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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