Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $116.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Delta Air Lines traded as high as $95.68 and last traded at $94.7530, with a volume of 657710 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $93.06.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on DAL. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $79.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Seaport Research Partners upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,738,836. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total value of $395,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 133,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,574,466. The trade was a 3.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 149,635 shares of company stock worth $10,833,855 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Delta Air Lines

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America lifted its price target on Delta Air Lines to $100 and reiterated a buy rating, reflecting optimism that strong demand and stable fares can support earnings. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are increasingly constructive on U.S. airlines ahead of Q2 results, citing resilient demand, sticky higher fares, and lower fuel prices as favorable tailwinds for Delta. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: Delta is expected to report earnings next week, and recent previews suggest investors are looking for continued execution after the company’s strong year-to-date run and strategic focus on trans-Pacific leadership. TipRanks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage highlighted Delta as one of the better fundamentally strong long-term airline names, with commentary on its plan to strengthen its trans-Pacific position. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional articles simply noted that Delta is scheduled to release earnings on Thursday, which keeps the stock in focus but does not by itself change the fundamentals. American Banking News article

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 137.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,811,787 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $958,538,000 after acquiring an additional 7,994,004 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $471,532,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,270,241 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $815,726,000 after purchasing an additional 2,773,945 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1,579.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,673,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $185,534,000 after purchasing an additional 2,514,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,155,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $426,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890,521 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $62.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.60.

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. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th will be paid a $0.215 dividend. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.93%.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.