Ninety One UK Ltd Sells 356,049 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Ninety One UK Ltd lessened its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,504,661 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 356,049 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $243,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 4,721 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 794 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,717 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,493 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 5,871 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fuel relief from Strait of Hormuz comments — Iran said the Strait of Hormuz will remain open, triggering a steep drop in crude (WTI and Brent) and easing near‑term jet‑fuel cost pressure for airlines, which lifted Delta shares. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher targets after Q1 — Several brokers have raised price targets and maintained buy ratings following Delta’s better‑than‑expected Q1 results and favorable commentary on premium and loyalty revenue, supporting upside sentiment. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks moves rating to Hold — Zacks upgraded DAL from “strong sell” to “hold,” which is mild support but not a strong buy signal. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry M&A chatter — Ongoing discussion about consolidation among U.S. carriers (United/American rumors) can rotate investor flows across names; Delta may benefit as a standalone leader but the direct impact is indirect. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling disclosed — EVP John Laughter sold ~15,000 shares (SEC filing), which can spook some investors even if sales are for diversification or liquidity. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Sector risk from Spirit distress — Reports of rising bankruptcy/liquidation risk at Spirit Airlines are weighing on sector sentiment and could create volatility for peers, including Delta. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on DAL. TD Cowen upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. HSBC lowered their price target on Delta Air Lines from $80.20 to $79.30 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Delta Air Lines from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.26.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $71.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $47.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $66.53 and its 200 day moving average is $65.26. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $38.80 and a twelve month high of $76.39.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th were paid a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 35,212 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.20, for a total transaction of $2,647,942.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 138,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,390,835.20. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.26, for a total value of $7,026,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,363,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,795,856.48. This represents a 6.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 353,611 shares of company stock worth $25,182,798 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.