Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Price Target to $72.00

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) had its target price cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $74.00 to $72.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,MarketScreener reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on DAL. Dbs Bank raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-one have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.37.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE DAL opened at $67.21 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Delta Air Lines has a 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $69.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $59.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.17. The company has a market capitalization of $43.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.38.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 15th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 23.83% and a net margin of 7.36%.The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 16th were given a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 10.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 14,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.25, for a total transaction of $858,112.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $968,730. This represents a 46.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 23,323 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.33, for a total value of $1,453,722.59. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 81,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,055,523.97. This represents a 22.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 9.4% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 25,160 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after buying an additional 2,153 shares during the last quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $295,000. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter valued at about $139,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 17.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,364 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,496,000 after purchasing an additional 3,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,091,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

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.