Comparing Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Harbor Diversified (OTCMKTS:HRBR)

Harbor Diversified (OTCMKTS:HRBR) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Harbor Diversified has a beta of 1.89, meaning that its stock price is 89% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Delta Air Lines has a beta of 1.37, meaning that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Harbor Diversified and Delta Air Lines’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Harbor Diversified	$280.86 million	0.32	$39.11 million	($0.18)	-9.17
Delta Air Lines	$58.05 billion	0.55	$4.61 billion	$7.78	6.34

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.0% of Harbor Diversified shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.9% of Delta Air Lines shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Harbor Diversified shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Delta Air Lines shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Harbor Diversified and Delta Air Lines’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Harbor Diversified	-2.30%	-2.32%	-1.45%
Delta Air Lines	8.48%	41.89%	5.61%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Harbor Diversified and Delta Air Lines, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Harbor Diversified	0	0	0	0	N/A
Delta Air Lines	0	0	11	1	3.08

Delta Air Lines has a consensus price target of $59.85, suggesting a potential upside of 21.28%. Given Delta Air Lines’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Delta Air Lines is more favorable than Harbor Diversified.

Summary

Delta Air Lines beats Harbor Diversified on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Harbor Diversified

Harbor Diversified, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides air transportation services in the United States. It also leases and finances flight equipment. As of December 31, 2022, it owned and operated a fleet of 64 regional jets. The company was formerly known as Harbor BioSciences, Inc. and changed its name to Harbor Diversified, Inc. in February 2012. Harbor Diversified, Inc. was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin.

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.