Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on DAL. Susquehanna increased their price objective 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. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 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. TD Cowen boosted their price objective 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 decreased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.29.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $48.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $59.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.27. Delta Air Lines has a 52-week low of $37.29 and a 52-week high of $69.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $2,467,312.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. This represents a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $30,721,357.15. The trade was a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have 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

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,410,242 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,380,820,000 after buying an additional 456,465 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 6.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,922,932 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,912,584 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $968,234,000 after acquiring an additional 410,648 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 0.3% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 0.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 92,208 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Delta Air Lines

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.