Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Shares Fall 4.7% After Analyst Downgrade

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) saw its share price drop by 4.7% on Wednesday following a downgrade by UBS Group. The investment firm lowered its price target on the airline’s stock from $90.00 to $77.00, yet maintains a buy rating. During the trading session, Delta shares reached a low of $45.21 and last traded at $44.50. The total shares traded during the day amounted to approximately 2,206,379, which represents a significant decrease of 74% compared to the average daily volume of 8,649,905 shares. The stock had closed at $46.68 the previous day.

Several other equity analysts have also recently shared their thoughts on Delta Air Lines. On January 7th, Susquehanna raised its target for Delta from $59.00 to $75.00, giving the stock a "positive" rating. Citigroup similarly increased its target from $65.00 to $76.00, also assigning a "buy" rating in a note dated November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its price target from $60.00 to $80.00 on November 21st, while Jefferies Financial Group moved its target up from $58.00 to $72.00 on November 11th, both with buy ratings. Additionally, StockNews.com upgraded Delta from a hold rating to a buy rating on February 13th. Presently, the consensus regarding Delta Air Lines among analysts is overwhelmingly positive, with fourteen ratings classified as buy and one as strong buy, resulting in a consensus price target of $76.60 according to MarketBeat.com.

Recent Insider Transactions

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of Delta Air Lines stock on January 22nd at an average price of $69.85, totaling approximately $6.4 million. Following the sale, he retains a personal holding of 439,819 shares, valued at about $30.72 million, indicating a 17.25% decrease in his ownership. This transaction was publicly disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Moreover, Executive Vice President Rahul D. Samant sold 17,970 shares on February 5th at an average price of $69.08, for a total of around $1.24 million. After this sale, Samant holds 35,889 shares valued at approximately $2.48 million, representing a 33.36% decrease in his position. In total, insiders sold 162,886 shares worth about $11.12 million over the last quarter, with insiders owning around 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investor Activity

Institutional investors have been active with their positions in Delta Air Lines. KBC Group NV boosted its stake by 143.7% in the third quarter, now holding 56,611 shares valued at approximately $2.88 million after acquiring an extra 33,378 shares. Meanwhile, Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new stake worth about $2.04 million in the fourth quarter. New Millennium Group LLC increased its stake by 314%, now owning 36,460 shares valued at $1.85 million after adding 27,654 shares in the last quarter. Another notable investor, Geode Capital Management, raised its stake by 2.8%, now owning 15,501,936 shares worth approximately $789.45 million after acquiring 416,338 additional shares. Institutional investors currently own 69.93% of Delta Air Lines' stock.

Current Stock Performance and Future Outlook

The airline operates with a market capitalization of $28.58 billion, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 8.30, and a price-to-earnings-growth (PEG) ratio of 0.75. Delta's debt-to-equity ratio stands at 0.92. The company's 50-day and 200-day moving averages are priced at $63.19 and $57.99, respectively.

Delta Air Lines reported its quarterly earnings on January 10th, revealing earnings per share (EPS) of $1.85 for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The company generated $15.56 billion in revenue, exceeding analysts' projections of $14.20 billion, resulting in a year-over-year revenue increase of 9.4%. In the same quarter the previous year, Delta reported an EPS of $1.28. Analysts currently forecast the company will post an EPS of 7.63 for the fiscal year ahead.

Dividend Announcement

Delta Air Lines has also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, scheduled to be paid on March 20th to shareholders who are on record as of February 27th. The dividend represents a yield of 1.36% and equates to an annualized total of $0.60 per share, with a current payout ratio of 11.26%.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines, Inc. provides scheduled air services for passengers and cargo, operating both domestically and internationally. The company's network includes core hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Salt Lake City, as well as important coastal locations in cities like Boston, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle, along with international hubs in Amsterdam, London, Paris, and Tokyo.

Delta, Airlines, Stock