Susquehanna Has Lowered Expectations for Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock Price

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) had its price target reduced by Susquehanna from $80.00 to $50.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “positive” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Susquehanna’s target price suggests a potential upside of 33.25% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays decreased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America cut their price target on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.20.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $37.52. The stock had a trading volume of 6,978,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,157,118. The company has a market cap of $24.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.01, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. Delta Air Lines has a twelve month low of $34.74 and a twelve month high of $69.98. The business’s fifty day moving average is $56.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other 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 owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $2,467,312.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,478.21. This represents a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at about $328,398,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $152,342,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 405.3% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,054,285 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $184,784,000 after acquiring an additional 2,449,874 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,955,818 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $602,327,000 after acquiring an additional 2,254,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 29,764,524 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,800,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,922,932 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.