Brokerages Set Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) PT at $61.06

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.06.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DAL shares. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $42.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $2,467,312.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. This trade represents a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 154,486 shares of company stock valued at $10,561,895. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,410,242 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $4,380,820,000 after buying an additional 456,465 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 29,764,524 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,800,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,932 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,912,584 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $968,234,000 after purchasing an additional 410,648 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,180,467 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $918,419,000 after purchasing an additional 46,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,090,209 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $670,994,000 after buying an additional 92,208 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE:DAL opened at $40.81 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.35. The stock has a market cap of $26.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.66, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Delta Air Lines has a one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $12.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is 10.64%.

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.