Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Receives Hold Rating from Jefferies Financial Group

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating restated by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $46.00 price objective on the transportation company's stock, down from their prior price objective of $85.00. Jefferies Financial Group's price target would indicate a potential upside of 18.88% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $71.49.

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Delta Air Lines Stock Down 10.8 %

DAL stock traded down $4.68 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $38.70. 18,098,701 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,119,013. The company has a market capitalization of $25.02 billion, a PE ratio of 7.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines has a twelve month low of $37.29 and a twelve month high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $2,467,312.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. The trade was a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DAL. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 329.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,593 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 1,989 shares during the period. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter valued at about $766,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,420 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $322,000. Finally, CWC Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 15,317 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. 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.