Short Interest in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Declines By 18.8%

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 30,480,000 shares, a drop of 18.8% from the December 31st total of 37,560,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 7,990,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.22.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL stock traded down $1.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.24. The stock had a trading volume of 4,481,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,220,607. The company has a market cap of $43.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines has a 12-month low of $37.29 and a 12-month high of $69.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.97.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share 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 30.43%. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 7,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.62, for a total value of $470,276.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,688,130.14. This represents a 11.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total value of $554,568.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. This represents a 29.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 129,150 shares of company stock valued at $8,735,936 in the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 2,150 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Mason & Associates Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 5,088 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,298 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $865,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,820 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently 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.