Susquehanna Has Lowered Expectations for Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock Price

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) had its price target cut by Susquehanna from $80.00 to $50.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a positive rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Dbs Bank lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com downgraded Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.63.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $44.42 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $53.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.81. Delta Air Lines has a twelve month low of $34.74 and a twelve month high of $69.98. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $28.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.33, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its earnings results 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). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $12.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were 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 owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,241,367.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,479,212.12. The trade was a 33.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

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

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.