Short Interest in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Expands By 15.4%

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 35,190,000 shares, a growth of 15.4% from the October 31st total of 30,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,930,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $1,305,148.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,197,608.72. This trade represents a 52.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,499,635.40. The trade was a 3.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893 over the last ninety days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE DAL traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $63.82. The company had a trading volume of 3,111,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,745,969. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $56.75 and its 200 day moving average is $49.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Delta Air Lines has a fifty-two week low of $36.19 and a fifty-two week high of $66.25. The company has a market capitalization of $41.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.33.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 8.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DAL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.83.

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.