Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.40.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on DAL. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $61.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Delta Air Lines to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE DAL traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $54.80. 5,125,280 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,494,603. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $35.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.27. Delta Air Lines has a one year low of $30.60 and a one year high of $56.48.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.46% and a return on equity of 36.02%. The business had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total transaction of $1,077,017.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 121,961 shares in the company, valued at $6,739,564.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares in the company, valued at $5,499,635.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% 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.