Aristides Capital LLC Cuts Stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Aristides Capital LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 97,085 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 9,860 shares during the period. Delta Air Lines comprises approximately 1.2% of Aristides Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $5,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $37.13 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $69.98.

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

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. This represents a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total transaction of $447,271.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,455.04. This trade represents a 40.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DAL. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.49.

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.