Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $70.71 and last traded at $69.9970, with a volume of 2327194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on DAL. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-one have given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.40.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 0.1%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.74. The stock has a market cap of $45.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.38. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 15th. The transportation company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter. The company 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 forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 16th were paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 16th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is presently 10.56%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 23,323 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.33, for a total value of $1,453,722.59. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 90.6% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. SWAN Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% in the 3rd quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 184.6% during 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 in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.