Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Hits New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $65.00 to $56.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Delta Air Lines traded as low as $36.86 and last traded at $36.86, with a volume of 348667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.71.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $46.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup reduced their price target on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $83.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $71.49.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. This trade represents a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 414.4% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.32 and a 200-day moving average of $58.06.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 30.41%. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 11.26%.

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.