Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Price Target to $56.00

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) had its price objective reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $58.00 to $56.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on DAL. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a buy rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $60.25.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $46.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.27 billion, a PE ratio of 6.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35. Delta Air Lines has a one year low of $30.60 and a one year high of $53.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $50.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.20.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 41.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Delta Air Lines will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 5.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total value of $253,445.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 112,421 shares in the company, valued at $5,879,618.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $2,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,328 shares in the company, valued at $7,166,400. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total transaction of $253,445.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 112,421 shares in the company, valued at $5,879,618.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 178,919 shares of company stock worth $8,834,653 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,936,699 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $842,283,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,053 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.3% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,030,836 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $719,526,000 after buying an additional 49,712 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,839,122 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $401,048,000 after buying an additional 865,746 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 220.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,600,741 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $346,008,000 after buying an additional 5,914,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,374,052 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $336,908,000 after buying an additional 826,232 shares during the last quarter. 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.