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

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

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on DAL. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.22.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Delta Air Lines stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.01. 5,464,268 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,445,616. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.41. 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.37. Delta Air Lines has a 52 week low of $37.29 and a 52 week high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.43% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Delta Air Lines will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $1,305,148.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at $1,197,608.72. The trade was a 52.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 128,423 shares of company stock valued at $8,712,931 in the last ninety days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.