Wolfe Research Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Wolfe Research from $56.00 to $63.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday. Wolfe Research’s price target points to a potential upside of 12.96% from the stock’s current price.

DAL has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $46.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.21.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE DAL opened at $55.77 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $49.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.60. Delta Air Lines has a 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $69.98. The stock has a market cap of $36.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 7.24%. The business had revenue of $15,507,000 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.56, for a total value of $2,523,701.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 131,731 shares in the company, valued at $7,318,974.36. This trade represents a 25.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $236,000. Wealth Effects LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 7.9% during the second quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 11,678 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter valued at $452,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 17.0% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 368,825 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $18,139,000 after buying an additional 53,645 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 71.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,149 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $450,000 after acquiring an additional 3,805 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.