Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Trading 8.1% Higher - Time to Buy?

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 8.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $38.98 and last traded at $38.79. 6,351,706 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average session volume of 9,259,389 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group downgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $77.00 to $42.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $46.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.06.

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Delta Air Lines Trading Down 1.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $26.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $52.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $12.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.85 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The firm's revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. This trade represents a 29.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,410,242 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,380,820,000 after purchasing an additional 456,465 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 29,764,524 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,800,754,000 after buying an additional 1,922,932 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,912,584 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $968,234,000 after buying an additional 410,648 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,180,467 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $918,419,000 after buying an additional 46,101 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,090,209 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $670,994,000 after buying an additional 92,208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

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.