Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

Several other research firms have also commented on DAL. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $45.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. TheStreet raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a c rating to a b rating in a research note on Thursday, July 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. Finally, 22nd Century Group reissued a maintains rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, June 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $57.31.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $38.89 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $44.17 and a 200 day moving average of $39.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.46. Delta Air Lines has a fifty-two week low of $27.20 and a fifty-two week high of $49.81.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 13th. The transportation company reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $15.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.44 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 59.56% and a net margin of 5.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, Director Michael P. Huerta sold 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.43, for a total transaction of $162,240.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,330,129.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 7,056 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $317,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 184,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,286,120. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael P. Huerta sold 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.43, for a total transaction of $162,240.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,465 shares in the company, valued at $1,330,129.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,479 shares of company stock valued at $1,839,353. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 15,283 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 962,574 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,966,000 after acquiring an additional 73,291 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $431,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $440,000. 71.29% 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, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, and Seoul-Incheon.