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

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.22.

DAL has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BNP Paribas upgraded Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total transaction of $1,077,017.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 121,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,739,564.86. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $1,305,148.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at $1,197,608.72. This represents a 52.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $64.07 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.62. The company has a market capitalization of $41.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.39. Delta Air Lines has a 52-week low of $35.28 and a 52-week high of $66.25.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

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

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.