Alain Bellemare Sells 25,000 Shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $2,036,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 95,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,738,836. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Alain Bellemare also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, May 7th, Alain Bellemare sold 20,621 shares of Delta Air Lines stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.75, for a total value of $1,500,177.75.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE:DAL opened at $82.49 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $70.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.99. The company has a market cap of $54.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.28 and a fifty-two week high of $83.83.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.The firm had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Argus upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Delta Air Lines from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.22.

Key Headlines Impacting Delta Air Lines

Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target on Delta Air Lines from $84 to $92 and reiterated a buy rating, reinforcing expectations for further upside in the shares. TD Cowen price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Airline stocks are benefiting from strong travel demand and a more favorable fuel-cost backdrop as oil prices have eased from recent highs, which can help Delta’s margins. Air travel demand and airfare article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent market coverage highlighted that Delta shares have been supported by analyst upgrades and higher price targets, reflecting improving confidence in the company’s earnings outlook. Delta stock is up article
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta’s CEO defended the carrier’s choice of Amazon’s in-flight Wi-Fi service over SpaceX Starlink, a strategic decision that may matter competitively but is not an immediate financial catalyst. Delta Wi-Fi strategy article
• Negative Sentiment: Two recent insider sales by Delta executives, including EVP Allison Ausband and EVP Alain Bellemare, may modestly pressure sentiment even though insider selling is not always a fundamental red flag. Ausband SEC filing Bellemare SEC filing

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter worth about $178,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the second quarter valued at about $555,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 102.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,825 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 357,825 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 10.6% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 58,129 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after buying an additional 5,564 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.