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

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) have received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven 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 analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $60.70.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DAL shares. HSBC assumed coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.80 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE:DAL opened at $42.49 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $27.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $43.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.98. Delta Air Lines has a 1-year low of $30.60 and a 1-year high of $53.86.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 11th. The transportation company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.37 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $15.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.45 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.46% and a return on equity of 36.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Delta Air Lines will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 30th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 8.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Willie Cw Chiang bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $43.90 per share, with a total value of $439,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $878,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the second quarter valued at $31,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 26,166.7% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 788 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 122.5% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 821 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth approximately $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.