Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Receives $71.53 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $71.5333.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on DAL shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, Susquehanna Bancshares lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE:DAL opened at $58.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.24, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.83. Delta Air Lines has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 15th. The transportation company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 23.83%. Analysts expect that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th will be given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 16th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.56%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 14,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.25, for a total transaction of $858,112.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $968,730. This trade represents a 46.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael P. Huerta sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total transaction of $151,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,245 shares in the company, valued at $2,017,971.50. The trade was a 6.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 39,833 shares of company stock valued at $2,463,585 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the second quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 90.6% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 184.6% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 572 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 2,280.8% in the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 619 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors 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.