Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Price Target Raised to $72.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) had its price objective lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $58.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on DAL. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.23.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $64.84 on Monday. Delta Air Lines has a 12 month low of $35.28 and a 12 month high of $66.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $52.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.51.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The firm had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 8.33%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,499,635.40. This represents a 3.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total value of $1,077,017.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 121,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,739,564.86. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,240 shares of company stock valued at $8,044,893 in the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DAL. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,414,074,000 after acquiring an additional 749,099 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,030,836 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $719,526,000 after purchasing an additional 49,712 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 12.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,933,785 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $471,330,000 after buying an additional 1,105,674 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the third quarter valued at approximately $281,206,000. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter valued at approximately $189,296,000. 69.93% of the stock is 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.