Short Interest in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Expands By 15.4%

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 35,190,000 shares, an increase of 15.4% from the October 31st total of 30,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,930,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE:DAL traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $62.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,335,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,288,335. Delta Air Lines has a fifty-two week low of $36.34 and a fifty-two week high of $66.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $40.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $57.37 and its 200-day moving average is $49.64.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on DAL shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total transaction of $3,830,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,775,004.27. This trade represents a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,499,635.40. This trade represents a 3.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,240 shares of company stock valued at $8,044,893 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.