Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Short Interest Update

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 32,390,000 shares, a decrease of 8.0% from the November 15th total of 35,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 0.2 %

DAL opened at $61.52 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $39.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. Delta Air Lines has a 12 month low of $36.34 and a 12 month high of $67.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $59.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.31.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The firm had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $1,305,148.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,197,608.72. The trade was a 52.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total value of $1,077,017.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 121,961 shares in the company, valued at $6,739,564.86. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.9% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 6,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,645 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.0% in the third quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 6.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,198 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

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.