Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Issues Q3 Earnings Guidance

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) issued an update on its third quarter earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $1.85-2.05 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31. Delta Air Lines also updated its FY23 guidance to $6.00-7.00 EPS.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE DAL opened at $39.54 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.44 billion, a PE ratio of 8.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Delta Air Lines has a 1 year low of $27.20 and a 1 year high of $49.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $44.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.55.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 13th. The transportation company reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.28. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 59.56% and a net margin of 5.36%. The business had revenue of $15.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Delta Air Lines will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $67.00 in a report on Sunday, July 16th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, July 14th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $45.00 to $54.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 14th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $56.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, Director Michael P. Huerta sold 3,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.43, for a total value of $162,240.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,465 shares in the company, valued at $1,330,129.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 17,944 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $807,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 166,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,478,640. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael P. Huerta sold 3,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.43, for a total value of $162,240.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,465 shares in the company, valued at $1,330,129.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,479 shares of company stock valued at $1,839,353 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,234,306 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,700,032,000 after buying an additional 1,267,578 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,652,643 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $756,110,000 after purchasing an additional 579,727 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.7% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,168,804 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $459,144,000 after purchasing an additional 351,286 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,396,524 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $129,679,000 after acquiring an additional 1,504,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 15.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,211,503 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $127,079,000 after purchasing an additional 437,281 shares during the last quarter. 71.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, and Seoul-Incheon.