Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Hits New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their price target 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. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $77.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, 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 owns 121,961 shares in the company, valued at $6,739,564.86. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,197,608.72. The trade was a 52.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 136,809 shares of company stock worth $7,871,765 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the second quarter valued at approximately $302,000. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 7,884 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the second quarter worth $261,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the second quarter valued at about $776,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 17.2% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 37,266 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,768,000 after purchasing an additional 5,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.85.

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.