Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) saw strong trading volume on Thursday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $50.00 to $59.00. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. 5,106,117 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the previous session’s volume of 9,440,048 shares.The stock last traded at $49.75 and had previously closed at $50.98.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on DAL. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. BNP Paribas raised Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.35.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 122.5% during the 1st 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. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $43.79 and its 200-day moving average is $46.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $32.46 billion, a PE ratio of 7.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.35.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 36.02% and a net margin of 7.46%. The business had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.63%.

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.