Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $77.06.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DAL shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $61.52 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.73. The stock has a market cap of $39.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. Delta Air Lines has a 1-year low of $36.34 and a 1-year high of $67.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total value of $3,830,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,775,004.27. This represents a 13.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $1,305,148.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,197,608.72. The trade was a 52.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 136,809 shares of company stock valued at $7,871,765 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.