Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Sold by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 44.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,356 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 24,647 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DAL. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,499,635.40. The trade was a 3.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total value of $3,830,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,775,004.27. This trade represents a 13.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE:DAL traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.07. The stock had a trading volume of 9,803,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,398,746. The stock has a market cap of $41.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.28 and a 12-month high of $66.25.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is 8.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on DAL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.22.

Delta Air Lines 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.