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

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $66.2056.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DAL shares. Bernstein Bank lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th.

Insider Activity

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total value of $1,969,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at $35,615,278.44. This trade represents a 5.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total transaction of $1,003,684.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 191,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,948,567.98. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 133,973 shares of company stock worth $7,511,746 in the last three months. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 184.6% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 572 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2,280.8% in the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 619 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 414.4% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE:DAL opened at $60.27 on Monday. Delta Air Lines has a twelve month low of $34.74 and a twelve month high of $69.98. The company has a market cap of $39.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.03.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $15,507,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.36 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.87%.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.