Delta Air Lines’ (DAL) Hold Rating Reaffirmed at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group reiterated their hold rating on shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $46.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $85.00.

DAL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com lowered Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.29.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 2.8 %

DAL stock opened at $42.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $57.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.36. Delta Air Lines has a 12 month low of $37.29 and a 12 month high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.26%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total value of $554,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,304,291.12. The trade was a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 35,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,479,212.12. This represents a 33.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in 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 valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the period. Fire Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $322,000. CWC Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 15,317 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. 111 Capital bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $660,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 89,920 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,440,000 after purchasing an additional 5,820 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

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.