Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Trading Down 2.2% After Earnings Miss

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s share price was down 2.2% during mid-day trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $43.90 and last traded at $43.98. Approximately 4,917,467 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 9,612,950 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.99.

The transportation company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.37 by ($0.01). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The business had revenue of $15.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is presently 5.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DAL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $1,176,206.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at $6,911,295.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total transaction of $1,176,206.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at $6,911,295.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 4,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.30, for a total value of $253,445.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 112,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,879,618.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 178,919 shares of company stock worth $8,834,653 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 396.6% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 26,166.7% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 788 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 122.5% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 821 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordwand Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $28.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.61, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

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.