Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Trims Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lessened its stake in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 9.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,009 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 1,017 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total value of $3,830,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,775,004.27. The trade was a 13.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $1,077,017.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 121,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,739,564.86. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 140,240 shares of company stock valued at $8,044,893. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

DAL opened at $64.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The business’s 50 day moving average is $52.17 and its 200-day moving average is $48.51. The stock has a market cap of $41.84 billion, a PE ratio of 9.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.33. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $35.28 and a twelve month high of $66.25.

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

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DAL has been the topic of several research reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.23.

About Delta Air Lines

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.