Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $84.00 to $92.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Delta Air Lines traded as high as $83.76 and last traded at $81.6640, with a volume of 11963399 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.39.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on DAL. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research raised Delta Air Lines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Argus upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.22.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $1,074,150.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 54,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,364.09. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $2,036,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 95,025 shares in the company, valued at $7,738,836. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 149,635 shares of company stock worth $10,833,855 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Delta Air Lines

Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target on Delta Air Lines from $84 to $92 and reiterated a buy rating, reinforcing expectations for further upside in the shares. TD Cowen price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Airline stocks are benefiting from strong travel demand and a more favorable fuel-cost backdrop as oil prices have eased from recent highs, which can help Delta’s margins. Air travel demand and airfare article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent market coverage highlighted that Delta shares have been supported by analyst upgrades and higher price targets, reflecting improving confidence in the company’s earnings outlook. Delta stock is up article
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta’s CEO defended the carrier’s choice of Amazon’s in-flight Wi-Fi service over SpaceX Starlink, a strategic decision that may matter competitively but is not an immediate financial catalyst. Delta Wi-Fi strategy article
• Negative Sentiment: Two recent insider sales by Delta executives, including EVP Allison Ausband and EVP Alain Bellemare, may modestly pressure sentiment even though insider selling is not always a fundamental red flag. Ausband SEC filing Bellemare SEC filing

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,211,101 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,680,249,000 after buying an additional 1,012,265 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,163,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,607,557,000 after buying an additional 165,729 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,413,841 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,215,766,000 after buying an additional 202,865 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 137.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,811,787 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $958,538,000 after buying an additional 7,994,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,310,804 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $854,370,000 after buying an additional 56,455 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $54.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.05 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.93%.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.