Analysts Set Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Price Target at $61.06

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.06.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group cut Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $77.00 to $42.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $83.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $40.81. The stock had a trading volume of 8,109,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,273,830. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm's 50 day moving average is $49.72 and its 200 day moving average is $57.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. Delta Air Lines has a one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $12.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.85 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is 10.64%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total transaction of $447,271.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $660,455.04. The trade was a 40.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 154,486 shares of company stock worth $10,561,895. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prosperity Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the first quarter valued at $700,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 5,924 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 168.1% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 244,937 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $10,679,000 after purchasing an additional 153,565 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,730 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5.9% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 161,395 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $7,037,000 after purchasing an additional 9,034 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.