Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Hits New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) hit a new 52-week low on Friday after Dbs Bank downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $36.86 and last traded at $36.86, with a volume of 348667 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.71.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on DAL. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $83.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James decreased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.49.

Insider Activity

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $1,241,367.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 35,889 shares in the company, valued at $2,479,212.12. The trade was a 33.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total transaction of $554,568.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. This trade represents a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 329.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,593 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989 shares during the last quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the first quarter valued at approximately $766,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 22.3% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,420 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Fire Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $322,000. Finally, CWC Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 15,317 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $927,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 4.1 %

The company has a market cap of $24.00 billion, a PE ratio of 6.97, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $56.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.26%.

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.