Insider Selling: 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $67.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.18. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.29 and a 52-week high of $69.98. 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 (NYSE:DAL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna upped their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.22.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DAL. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 217.1% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 555 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during 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.