Yahoo Finance Delta Air Lines Insiders Sold US$12m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy
In the last year, many Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) insiders sold a substantial stake in the company which may have sparked shareholders' attention. Knowing whether insiders are buying is usually more helpful when evaluating insider transactions, as insider selling can have various explanations. However, when multiple insiders sell stock over a specific duration, shareholders should take notice as that could possibly be a red flag.
While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.
View our latest analysis for Delta Air Lines
The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Delta Air Lines
The President, Glen Hauenstein, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$4.9m worth of shares at a price of US$49.05 each. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$52.28). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. We note that the biggest single sale was only 31% of Glen Hauenstein's holding.
Happily, we note that in the last year insiders paid US$1.1m for 30.00k shares. But insiders sold 261.36k shares worth US$12m. All up, insiders sold more shares in Delta Air Lines than they bought, over the last year. The average sell price was around US$47.20. It's not too encouraging to see that insiders have sold at below the current price. Since insiders sell for many reasons, we wouldn't put too much weight on it. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!
If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
Insiders At Delta Air Lines Have Sold Stock Recently
Over the last three months, we've seen notably more insider selling, than insider buying, at Delta Air Lines. We note insiders cashed in US$9.5m worth of shares. Meanwhile insider Wilfred Chiang bought US$495k worth. Because the selling vastly outweighs the buying, we'd say this is a somewhat bearish sign.
Insider Ownership Of Delta Air Lines
Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Delta Air Lines insiders own about US$126m worth of shares (which is 0.4% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Delta Air Lines Tell Us?
The insider sales have outweighed the insider buying, at Delta Air Lines, in the last three months. And our longer term analysis of insider transactions didn't bring confidence, either. But it is good to see that Delta Air Lines is growing earnings. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. While conducting our analysis, we found that Delta Air Lines has 2 warning signs and it would be unwise to ignore these.
But note: Delta Air Lines may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
