Delta Shares Climb 1.41% as Trading Volume Slumps 32.79% to 230th Rank Institutional Stake Cuts 1.9%

On August 18, 2025, Delta Air Lines (DAL) closed with a 1.41% gain, while its trading volume fell to $0.40 billion, down 32.79% from the previous day, ranking 230th in market activity.

Institutional investor Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Delta by 1.9%, now holding 10.88 million shares valued at $474.3 million. The company reported Q2 earnings of $2.10 per share, surpassing estimates, though revenue declined slightly by 0.1% year-over-year. Delta also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.1875 per share, yielding 1.2%, up from $0.15 previously. Institutional ownership remains strong at 69.93%.

Insiders, including CEO Edward Bastian and EVP Alain Bellemare, sold significant shares, reducing their holdings by 5.24% and 25.64%, respectively. Analysts, however, have upgraded price targets and maintained positive outlooks. Deutsche Bank and TD Cowen raised their targets to $63 and $66, respectively, while JPMorgan and BNP Paribas also increased their estimates, reflecting confidence in Delta’s premium service strategy and margin resilience.

The strategy of buying the top 500 stocks by daily trading volume and holding them for one day from 2022 to present delivered a 6.98% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), with a maximum drawdown of 15.46% during the backtest period. Despite steady growth, the mid-2023 downturn underscores the risks of high-volume trading strategies.