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

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.6762.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Seaport Global Securities raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $69.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $63.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 14,010 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.25, for a total transaction of $858,112.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $968,730. The trade was a 46.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 23,323 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 81,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,055,523.97. This trade represents a 22.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 17.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,364 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,496,000 after purchasing an additional 3,884 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,091,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,726 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 16.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 94,146 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,343,000 after acquiring an additional 13,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 16.8% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,951 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 2,444 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $62.14 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $58.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.55. 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 1-year low of $34.74 and a 1-year high of $69.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.52.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 15th. The transportation company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 23.83%. Equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 16th were given a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is 10.56%.

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.