Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) was the recipient of a large 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. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 9,690,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL stock traded up $0.96 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $43.38. The stock had a trading volume of 10,016,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,083,110. Delta Air Lines has a twelve month low of $37.29 and a twelve month high of $69.98. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14, a PEG 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DAL shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $83.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna lifted their price target 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. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $71.77.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $1,241,367.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 35,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,479,212.12. This represents a 33.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were 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 approximately $30,721,357.15. The trade was 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hemington Wealth Management increased 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 last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 414.4% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.