Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Earns Overweight Rating from Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $87.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $69.20 to $73.70 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-two have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.07.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 1.3%

DAL stock opened at $71.08 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.81. The company has a market cap of $46.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.40. Delta Air Lines has a fifty-two week low of $34.74 and a fifty-two week high of $72.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 15th. The transportation company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 23.83% and a net margin of 7.36%.The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 16th were paid a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is presently 10.56%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 23,323 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.33, for a total value of $1,453,722.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 81,109 shares in the company, valued at $5,055,523.97. This represents a 22.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 14,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.25, for a total value of $858,112.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $968,730. This represents a 46.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 3.3% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,493 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.2% in the third quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 5,871 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,844 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,237 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,225 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.