Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock Price

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) had its price objective trimmed by Citigroup from $80.00 to $72.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on DAL. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays decreased their price target 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 lowered their price target on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.29.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of DAL stock opened at $46.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.80, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $61.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.99. Delta Air Lines has a twelve month low of $37.29 and a twelve month high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

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 $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.26%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total value of $447,271.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,455.04. This represents a 40.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 2,150 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,555 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Mason & Associates Inc increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 5,088 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,298 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.