Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Updates Q3 2024 Earnings Guidance

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) issued an update on its third quarter 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.700-2.000 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.060. The company issued revenue guidance of $15.8 billion-$16.1 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $15.4 billion. Delta Air Lines also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 6.000-7.000 EPS.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 3.0 %

DAL stock opened at $43.62 on Friday. Delta Air Lines has a fifty-two week low of $30.60 and a fifty-two week high of $53.86. The business’s 50-day moving average is $49.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $28.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.35.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 11th. The transportation company reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.37 by ($0.01). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 37.64% and a net margin of 7.46%. The company had revenue of $15.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.45 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on DAL. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group began coverage on Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a buy rating and a $59.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on Delta Air Lines in a report on Monday, May 13th. They set a buy rating and a $72.80 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $60.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total transaction of $1,176,206.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,911,295.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Willie Cw Chiang purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $49.50 per share, with a total value of $495,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 24,073 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.86, for a total value of $1,176,206.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 141,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,911,295.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 178,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,834,653. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

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.