Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock Price Down 3.8% – Here’s Why

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) shares dropped 3.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $61.66 and last traded at $62.26. Approximately 2,234,651 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 9,356,614 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DAL. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $72.75.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.08. The stock has a market cap of $40.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.33.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The company had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.33%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $1,305,148.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,197,608.72. The trade was a 52.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. The trade was a 3.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DAL. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by 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.