Capital Investment Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Capital Investment Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,431 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 7,299 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $1,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 829.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 604 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:DAL opened at $66.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.69 billion, a PE ratio of 9.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.35. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.34 and a 52-week high of $68.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on DAL shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BNP Paribas raised Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.22.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 7,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.62, for a total value of $470,276.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,688,130.14. The trade was a 11.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $1,305,148.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,197,608.72. This trade represents a 52.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 136,809 shares of company stock valued at $7,871,765. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.