Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $43.60, but opened at $42.33. Delta Air Lines shares last traded at $41.30, with a volume of 3,561,434 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $46.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.29.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 3.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $58.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.38. The stock has a market cap of $27.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $2,467,312.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,425,478.21. The trade was a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DAL. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 414.4% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.