Short Interest in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Increases By 6.3%

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 30,500,000 shares, a growth of 6.3% from the October 15th total of 28,690,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,650,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $1,305,148.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,197,608.72. The trade was a 52.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total transaction of $3,830,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $24,775,004.27. This represents a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,240 shares of company stock valued at $8,044,893. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Senator Investment Group LP raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 90.0% in the 2nd quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 475,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $22,534,000 after buying an additional 225,000 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 268,636 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,644,000 after buying an additional 13,802 shares in the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 175,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,888,000 after buying an additional 43,000 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 143.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 56,611 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,876,000 after buying an additional 33,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 130,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 24,249 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.49. 5,263,384 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,366,834. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.33. Delta Air Lines has a twelve month low of $35.46 and a twelve month high of $66.25.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The business had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is presently 8.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DAL. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.22.

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.