Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $55.80, but opened at $54.68. Delta Air Lines shares last traded at $55.01, with a volume of 1,920,398 shares trading hands.

Specifically, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total value of $1,077,017.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 121,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,739,564.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,499,635.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DAL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Delta Air Lines to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $65.40.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 1.3 %

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $45.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.46% and a return on equity of 36.02%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.63%.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Senator Investment Group LP grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 90.0% in the second quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 475,000 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $22,534,000 after purchasing an additional 225,000 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 2.8% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 50,358 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,384,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the first quarter worth approximately $1,108,000. Norden Group LLC boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 714.1% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 112,048 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $5,364,000 after acquiring an additional 98,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the first quarter worth approximately $907,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.