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

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $76.29.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on DAL. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $2,467,312.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,425,478.21. This trade represents a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total transaction of $554,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,304,291.12. The trade was a 29.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 over the last ninety days. 0.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 414.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL stock opened at $46.21 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $59.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.18. The firm has a market cap of $29.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines has a 12 month low of $37.29 and a 12 month high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.26%.

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.