Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) CEO Sells $6,405,943.50 in Stock

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of DAL traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $67.41. 8,112,030 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,360,375. The company has a market cap of $43.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $63.06 and its 200-day moving average is $52.94. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.29 and a 52 week high of $69.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.43% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.22.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,414,074,000 after purchasing an additional 749,099 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,501,936 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $789,452,000 after acquiring an additional 416,338 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $281,206,000. Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $189,296,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,497,487 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $177,637,000 after acquiring an additional 10,332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

Delta Air Lines, Inc provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Salt Lake City, as well as coastal hub positions in Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, and Seattle; and international network centered on hubs and market presence in Amsterdam, Bogota, Lima, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Sao Paulo, Seoul-Incheon, and Tokyo.