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

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.11.

DAL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

DAL opened at $57.56 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.56. Delta Air Lines has a 52-week low of $34.74 and a 52-week high of $69.98. The company has a market cap of $37.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.11, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 15th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 24.85%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 10.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total value of $1,007,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 97,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,456,379.80. This represents a 15.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.19, for a total value of $1,003,684.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 191,442 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 91,050 shares of company stock worth $5,139,795. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management lifted 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 acquiring an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.