Mount Lucas Management LP Trims Stock Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Mount Lucas Management LP lowered its position in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 48.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 58,813 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 55,767 shares during the quarter. Delta Air Lines comprises approximately 1.0% of Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $2,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DAL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.22.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $64.07 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.28 and a 52-week high of $66.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.06 and a 200 day moving average of $48.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $41.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.33.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The firm had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 8.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total value of $1,077,017.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 121,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,739,564.86. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. The trade was a 3.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.