Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Receives $59.85 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $59.85.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DAL. UBS Group began coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $49.35 on Wednesday. Delta Air Lines has a twelve month low of $30.60 and a twelve month high of $53.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $50.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.85 billion, a PE ratio of 6.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines will post 6.61 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a positive change from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total transaction of $1,176,206.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 141,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,911,295.86. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total transaction of $1,176,206.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,911,295.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at $10,672,495.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 178,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,834,653. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 396.6% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 26,166.7% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 788 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 785 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 122.5% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 821 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordwand Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

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.