Southpoint Capital Advisors LP Sells 500,000 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lessened its position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 33.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,000,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 500,000 shares during the quarter. Delta Air Lines makes up about 1.4% of Southpoint Capital Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $66,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 137.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,811,787 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $958,538,000 after acquiring an additional 7,994,004 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth $471,532,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 29.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,270,241 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $815,726,000 after purchasing an additional 2,773,945 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1,579.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,673,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $185,534,000 after buying an additional 2,514,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,155,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $426,441,000 after buying an additional 1,890,521 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $86.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $84.13 and its 200-day moving average is $73.68. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.44 and a fifty-two week high of $95.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $17.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.43 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 17.52%. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th will be given a $0.215 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 9th. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.40.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 9,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $737,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 138,854 shares in the company, valued at $10,552,904. The trade was a 6.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $2,036,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 95,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,738,836. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 65,331 shares of company stock worth $5,036,638 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines 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.