Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Shares Gap Down to $46.86

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $46.86, but opened at $43.01. Delta Air Lines shares last traded at $43.03, with a volume of 8,454,770 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DAL. UBS Group began coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. HSBC assumed coverage on Delta Air Lines in a report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $72.80 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $60.30.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 5.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $28.45 billion, a PE ratio of 5.53, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $50.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.48.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.14%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 217,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,672,495.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of Delta Air Lines 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,879,618.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $4,905,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,672,495.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 178,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,834,653. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 24.7% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 983 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 4.0% during the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 5,772 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 2.9% during the first quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,145 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 7.2% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 1.8% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 14,006 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in 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.