BMO Capital Markets Upgrades Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) to “Strong-Buy”

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) was upgraded by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on DAL. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Delta Air Lines from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-one have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $73.40.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of DAL opened at $69.92 on Tuesday. Delta Air Lines has a 52-week low of $34.74 and a 52-week high of $69.98. The company has a market capitalization of $45.66 billion, a PE ratio of 9.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 23,323 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.33, for a total transaction of $1,453,722.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 81,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,055,523.97. The trade was a 22.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 14,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 15,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $968,730. This represents a 46.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DAL. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 90.6% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 184.6% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 572 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2,280.8% during the second 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. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.