Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-three have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.8458.

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Seaport Research Partners increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $83.11 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $73.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Delta Air Lines has a one year low of $45.28 and a one year high of $83.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.30.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.The business had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th were paid a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.93%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $2,036,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,738,836. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 69,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.15, for a total transaction of $4,723,067.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 69,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,727,497.35. This represents a 49.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 149,635 shares of company stock valued at $10,833,855. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 14.0% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 457,796 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,980,000 after purchasing an additional 56,365 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter valued at about $1,041,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 107,173 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $7,438,000 after purchasing an additional 19,829 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 53.2% in the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 92,142 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,395,000 after purchasing an additional 32,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 66.0% in the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 911,136 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $51,707,000 after purchasing an additional 362,329 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.