Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Receives $75.83 Average Price Target from Analysts

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $77.06.

Several research firms recently commented on DAL. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. BNP Paribas raised Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $61.52 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. Delta Air Lines has a 52-week low of $36.34 and a 52-week high of $67.50.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total value of $1,077,017.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 121,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,739,564.86. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total value of $3,830,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,775,004.27. This trade represents a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 136,809 shares of company stock worth $7,871,765. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DAL. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 829.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 604 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently 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.