Comparing Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ:ALGT)

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Allegiant Travel (NASDAQ:ALGT) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

69.9% of Delta Air Lines shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.8% of Allegiant Travel shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Delta Air Lines shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 12.8% of Allegiant Travel shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Delta Air Lines has a beta of 1.34, indicating that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Allegiant Travel has a beta of 1.55, indicating that its share price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Delta Air Lines pays an annual dividend of $0.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Allegiant Travel pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Delta Air Lines pays out 17.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Allegiant Travel pays out 170.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Delta Air Lines has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Delta Air Lines and Allegiant Travel, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Delta Air Lines	1	1	22	0	2.88
Allegiant Travel	1	4	9	1	2.67

Delta Air Lines currently has a consensus price target of $99.65, indicating a potential upside of 19.37%. Allegiant Travel has a consensus price target of $123.38, indicating a potential upside of 62.95%. Given Allegiant Travel’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Allegiant Travel is more favorable than Delta Air Lines.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Delta Air Lines and Allegiant Travel”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Delta Air Lines	$71.80 billion	0.76	$5.00 billion	$5.01	16.66
Allegiant Travel	$2.89 billion	0.72	-$44.70 million	$1.41	53.70

Delta Air Lines has higher revenue and earnings than Allegiant Travel. Delta Air Lines is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Allegiant Travel, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Delta Air Lines and Allegiant Travel’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Delta Air Lines	4.58%	16.83%	4.26%
Allegiant Travel	0.90%	10.83%	2.75%

Summary

Delta Air Lines beats Allegiant Travel on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company sells its tickets through various distribution channels, including delta.com and the Fly Delta app; acts as a reservations specialists; and operates online travel and traditional brick and mortar agencies. It also provides aircraft maintenance and engineering support, repair, and overhaul services; and vacation packages to third-party consumers. The company operates through a fleet of approximately 1,273 aircrafts. Delta Air Lines, Inc. was founded in 1924 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Allegiant Travel

Allegiant Travel Company, a leisure travel company, provides travel services and products to residents of under-served cities in the United States. The company offers scheduled air transportation on limited-frequency, nonstop flights between under-served cities and leisure destinations. As of February 1, 2024, it operated a fleet of 126 Airbus A320 series aircraft. The company also provides air-related services and products in conjunction with air transportation, including baggage fees, advance seat assignments, travel protection products, priority boarding, a customer convenience fee, food and beverage purchases on board, and other air-related services, as well as use of its call center for purchases. In addition, it offers third party travel products, such as hotel rooms and ground transportation, such as rental cars and hotel shuttle products; and air transportation services through fixed fee agreements and charter service on a year-round and ad-hoc basis. Further, the company operates a golf course. Allegiant Travel Company was founded in 1997 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.