Short Interest in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Declines By 20.4%

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 21,080,000 shares, a decrease of 20.4% from the February 28th total of 26,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,690,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of 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. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.29.

Insider Activity

In other Delta Air Lines news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total value of $554,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. This represents a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 over the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE:DAL traded down $1.22 on Tuesday, hitting $42.38. The stock had a trading volume of 13,967,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,101,419. Delta Air Lines has a 1 year low of $37.29 and a 1 year high of $69.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $27.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34.

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, beating 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 company had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. Delta Air Lines’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.26%.

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.