Strategic Blueprint LLC Sells 699 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Strategic Blueprint LLC cut its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,374 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 699 shares during the quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $6,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5.4% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 268,636 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $13,644,000 after buying an additional 13,802 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 143.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 56,611 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,876,000 after acquiring an additional 33,378 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 175,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,888,000 after acquiring an additional 43,000 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at $2,036,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 130,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 24,249 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DAL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 10,279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total transaction of $603,582.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,607,112.48. The trade was a 11.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,429 shares of company stock worth $9,339,519 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL stock opened at $68.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $63.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.60. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.29 and a 52-week high of $69.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.35.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.43% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

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.