Hodges Capital Management Inc. Sells 69,925 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,713 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 69,925 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total transaction of $1,077,017.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 121,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,739,564.86. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $1,305,148.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,197,608.72. This trade represents a 52.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893 in the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 1.9 %

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $64.53 on Monday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.34 and a 12-month high of $67.50. 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 $41.64 billion, a PE ratio of 8.96, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $58.22 and its 200 day moving average is $49.91.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 8.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DAL shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.83.

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.