Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $78.22.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 10,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $603,582.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,607,112.48. This trade represents a 11.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 7,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.62, for a total value of $470,276.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,688,130.14. The trade was a 11.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,429 shares of company stock worth $9,339,519 in the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Mason & Associates Inc increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 5,088 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,298 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $865,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,820 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,267 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

DAL opened at $68.37 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average is $63.32 and its 200-day moving average is $53.60. The stock has a market cap of $44.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.35. Delta Air Lines has a twelve month low of $37.29 and a twelve month high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.43% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

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.