Seaport Research Partners Has Lowered Expectations for Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock Price

Key Points

• Seaport Research Partners lowered Delta Air Lines’ price target from $108 to $95 while maintaining a “buy” rating, implying approximately 11.83% upside from the stock’s $84.95 opening price.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable: 23 analysts rate Delta a Buy and two rate it Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $100.62.
• Delta recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.56 in earnings per share versus the $1.49 consensus and $17.67 billion in revenue; however, insiders have sold 356,726 shares worth about $33.1 million over the past 90 days.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by research analysts at Seaport Research Partners from $108.00 to $95.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the transportation company's stock. Seaport Research Partners' price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.83% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on DAL. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.62.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $84.95 on Friday. Delta Air Lines has a one year low of $55.03 and a one year high of $95.68. The stock has a market cap of $55.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.29.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $17.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.43 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 17.52%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 6.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 35,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.72, for a total transaction of $3,245,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,810,718. The trade was a 26.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 40,460 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.55, for a total value of $3,785,033.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 104,404 shares in the company, valued at $9,766,994.20. This trade represents a 27.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 356,726 shares of company stock worth $33,081,037 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of DAL. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 425,654 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $29,540,000 after buying an additional 51,041 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 105.3% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 39,018 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $2,595,000 after acquiring an additional 20,012 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 102.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 105,966 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $7,045,000 after acquiring an additional 53,581 shares during the period. Econ Financial Services Corp raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 49.4% in the 1st quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 68,743 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,570,000 after purchasing an additional 22,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 45.1% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 449,986 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $42,146,000 after purchasing an additional 139,799 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

Delta Air Lines, Inc is a major U.S. airline that provides scheduled passenger air transportation throughout the United States and to destinations across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The company also offers air cargo services and operates a loyalty program, SkyMiles, along with related travel and customer services.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Delta operates a network of domestic and international routes through hubs and focus cities that include Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, New York, Salt Lake City and Seattle.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.