Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.37.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DAL shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Dbs Bank lowered Delta Air Lines from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL stock opened at $48.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $31.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $44.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.38. Delta Air Lines has a 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $69.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.38). Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The company had revenue of $12.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 10.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $2,467,312.47. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,789 shares in the company, valued at $3,425,478.21. The trade was a 41.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 414.4% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.