Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.40.

DAL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total transaction of $1,077,017.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 121,961 shares in the company, valued at $6,739,564.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter valued at about $60,217,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 96.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,487,387 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $119,057,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,074 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,933,785 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $471,330,000 after buying an additional 1,105,674 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 159.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 588,436 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $27,915,000 after buying an additional 361,942 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 98.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 667,373 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $31,660,000 after buying an additional 331,197 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $54.12 on Tuesday. Delta Air Lines has a 12-month low of $30.60 and a 12-month high of $56.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $47.33 and its 200-day moving average is $47.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.46% and a return on equity of 36.02%. Delta Air Lines’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 8.63%.

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.