Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA (OTCMKTS:NWARF) vs. Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Financial Analysis

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA (OTCMKTS:NWARF) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA and Delta Air Lines, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA	0	0	0	0	N/A
Delta Air Lines	0	0	12	1	3.08

Delta Air Lines has a consensus target price of $65.40, indicating a potential upside of 16.16%. Given Delta Air Lines’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Delta Air Lines is more favorable than Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA and Delta Air Lines”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA	N/A	N/A	N/A	($8.11)	-0.14
Delta Air Lines	$60.31 billion	0.60	$4.61 billion	$6.95	8.10

Delta Air Lines has higher revenue and earnings than Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA. Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Delta Air Lines, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

31.8% of Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.9% of Delta Air Lines shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Delta Air Lines shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA and Delta Air Lines’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Delta Air Lines	7.46%	36.02%	5.32%

Summary

Delta Air Lines beats Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA on 11 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, together with its subsidiaries, provides air travel services in Norway and internationally. It is also involved in aircraft financing, leasing, and ownership activities; and cargo activities. It operates a fleet of 87 aircrafts. Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Fornebu, Norway.

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. The company sells its tickets through various distribution channels, including delta.com and the Fly Delta app; acts as a reservations specialists; and operates online travel and traditional brick and mortar agencies. It also provides aircraft maintenance and engineering support, repair, and overhaul services; and vacation packages to third-party consumers. The company operates through a fleet of approximately 1,273 aircrafts. Delta Air Lines, Inc. was founded in 1924 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.