Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $54.14 and last traded at $54.14, with a volume of 220939 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $65.40.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.03. The stock has a market cap of $36.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 36.02% and a net margin of 7.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. Analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. American International Group Inc. boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 181,107 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,286,000 after buying an additional 2,783 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $333,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,401 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at approximately $749,000. 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.