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

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) had its target price trimmed by Jefferies Financial Group from $58.00 to $56.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an overweight rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, HSBC assumed coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They set a buy rating and a $72.80 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $60.25.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL stock opened at $46.91 on Friday. Delta Air Lines has a 1 year low of $30.60 and a 1 year high of $53.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $50.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.20. The firm has a market cap of $30.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.03, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.35.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. Delta Air Lines’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Delta Air Lines will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $1,176,206.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,911,295.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at $10,672,495.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $1,176,206.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,911,295.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 178,919 shares of company stock worth $8,834,653. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 396.6% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 26,166.7% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 788 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 122.5% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 821 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordwand Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. 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.