Bank of America Raises Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Price Target to $80.00

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) had its price objective hoisted by Bank of America from $74.00 to $80.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.31% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on DAL. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $87.00 price target on Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Dbs Bank raised Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Seaport Global Securities boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $69.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-two have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.77.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 4.1%

NYSE:DAL opened at $71.87 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.53. 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 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $72.85.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 14,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $968,730. This trade represents a 46.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 23,323 shares of the company’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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Red Spruce Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 52,323 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 31,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,179,000 after buying an additional 3,195 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,408 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after buying an additional 1,844 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 4,721 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 114.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 41,137 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,330,000 after acquiring an additional 21,989 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.