Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on DAL. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.22.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL traded down $0.05 on Wednesday, reaching $69.01. 5,464,268 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,445,616. The firm has a market cap of $44.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.36. Delta Air Lines has a 12 month low of $37.29 and a 12 month high of $69.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $63.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total transaction of $554,568.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at $1,304,291.12. The trade was a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders have sold 128,423 shares of company stock valued at $8,712,931. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $377,000. Norden Group LLC boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 19,702 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 15,853 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 3,608 shares in the last quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 312.6% in the 4th quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 7,200 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 5,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth about $271,000. 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.