Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Sets New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $65.00 to $56.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Delta Air Lines traded as low as $36.86 and last traded at $36.86, with a volume of 348667 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $38.71.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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 note on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $71.49.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $2,467,312.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. This represents a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total transaction of $447,271.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,455.04. This represents a 40.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 in the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 414.4% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average is $56.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.12. The stock has a market cap of $23.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. 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.