Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $71.22.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

DAL traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $64.07. 9,852,574 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,398,935. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $53.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.33. Delta Air Lines has a 1-year low of $35.28 and a 1-year high of $66.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The company 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 posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm's 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 year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $1,305,148.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,197,608.72. This trade represents a 52.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 owns 121,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,739,564.86. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth about $41,000. 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.