Aristides Capital LLC Reduces Stock Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Aristides Capital LLC lessened its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 9,860 shares during the period. Delta Air Lines makes up approximately 1.2% of Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $5,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 4.1 %

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $37.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $56.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.14. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.74 and a 1 year high of $69.98. The stock has a market cap of $24.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.97, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,478.21. This trade represents a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 in the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on DAL shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Raymond James reduced their price target on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.49.

Delta Air Lines 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.