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

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-five research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $99.8391.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Delta Air Lines from $104.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, Director Michael P. Huerta sold 3,100 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.11, for a total transaction of $291,741.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,060,927.75. This trade represents a 8.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 206,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.80, for a total transaction of $19,164,128.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,363,448 shares in the company, valued at $126,527,974.40. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 356,726 shares of company stock worth $33,081,037. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DAL. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8,578.7% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 18,516,676 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,734,272,000 after purchasing an additional 18,303,318 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter valued at $1,182,646,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 137.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,811,787 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $958,538,000 after buying an additional 7,994,004 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at $471,532,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1,579.2% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,673,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $185,534,000 after buying an additional 2,514,193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:DAL opened at $78.69 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $86.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.84. The stock has a market cap of $51.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Delta Air Lines has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $95.68.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.07. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 17.52%. The company had revenue of $17.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.10 earnings per share. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 6.23 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.215 per share. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.26%.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.