Slate Path Capital LP Cuts Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Slate Path Capital LP cut its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Free Report) by 54.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,975,145 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 3,511,855 shares during the period. Delta Air Lines makes up 3.3% of Slate Path Capital LP's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Slate Path Capital LP owned 0.46% of Delta Air Lines worth $179,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,036,000. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,593,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 562.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 11,260 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 9,559 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 23,657 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,540,000 after acquiring an additional 4,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth $244,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on DAL shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Delta Air Lines from $83.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total value of $447,271.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,016 shares in the company, valued at $660,455.04. This represents a 40.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $2,467,312.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. The trade was a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 62,776 shares of company stock valued at $4,155,951. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL traded down $0.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $41.64. 7,190,385 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,240,790. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.74 and a 52-week high of $69.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.19 billion, a PE ratio of 7.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.07.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $12.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. Delta Air Lines's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.64%.

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.