Pzena Investment Management LLC Sells 175,126 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Pzena Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,807,667 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 175,126 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $186,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% in the 3rd quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 451.6% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 524 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total value of $395,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 133,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,574,466. This represents a 3.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $2,036,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 95,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,738,836. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 149,635 shares of company stock valued at $10,833,855 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on DAL. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $79.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Argus raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Evercore boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.80.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 0.7%

DAL stock opened at $93.00 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $78.06 and a 200 day moving average of $71.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.24 and a 52 week high of $95.14.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. Delta Air Lines’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.215 per share. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.93%.

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.