Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) had its price objective raised by Citigroup from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on DAL. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.83.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE:DAL opened at $64.14 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $55.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.39 billion, a PE ratio of 8.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.33. Delta Air Lines has a 12 month low of $35.46 and a 12 month high of $66.25. 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 (NYSE:DAL) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 8.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $1,305,148.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,197,608.72. The trade was a 52.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. This represents a 3.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.9% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 6,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,645 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,198 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.