Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $69.73 and last traded at $69.37, with a volume of 140886 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on DAL shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $78.22.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $62.99 and a 200-day moving average of $52.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.35.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.43% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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 approximately $24,775,004.27. The trade was a 13.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.62, for a total value of $470,276.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,688,130.14. This trade represents a 11.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 125,719 shares of company stock worth $7,349,316. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 217.1% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 555 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

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.