Insider Selling: Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) EVP Sells 5,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Delta Air Lines EVP Allison Ausband sold 5,000 shares on May 21 at an average price of $73.50, for proceeds of $367,500. After the sale, she still held 138,854 shares valued at about $10.2 million.
• Delta’s latest earnings beat expectations, with quarterly EPS of $0.64 versus the $0.61 estimate and revenue of $14.20 billion versus $14.05 billion expected. Revenue rose 9.4% year over year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.1875 per share, equal to a $0.75 annualized payout and a yield of 0.9%. Institutional ownership remains high at 69.93% of shares outstanding.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) EVP Allison Ausband sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total transaction of $367,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 138,854 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,769. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL traded up $3.25 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $79.39. 9,466,084 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,331,501. The company has a market cap of $52.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.57, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.25. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.28 and a 1 year high of $79.59. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $68.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.05 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The business's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is presently 10.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DAL. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 90.6% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% in the 3rd quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on DAL shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Argus lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America cut their price target on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Delta Air Lines from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 16th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.89.

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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