Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Reaches New 52-Week High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $68.99 and last traded at $68.19, with a volume of 8317204 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $61.42.

The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. Delta Air Lines’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DAL. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.06.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.62, for a total transaction of $470,276.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,688,130.14. This represents a 11.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total transaction of $3,830,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,775,004.27. The trade was a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 136,809 shares of company stock worth $7,871,765 over the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DAL. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $281,206,000. Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter worth approximately $189,296,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $471,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,674 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,414,074,000 after purchasing an additional 749,099 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 419.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 562,129 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,551,000 after purchasing an additional 453,926 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $43.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

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.