Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Earns “Buy” Rating from UBS Group

UBS Group restated their buy rating on shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $88.00 price target on the transportation company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.83.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $63.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 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. Delta Air Lines has a one year low of $36.19 and a one year high of $66.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $56.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.55.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its 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 net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The business had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Delta Air Lines will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 108,990 shares in the company, valued at $5,499,635.40. This represents a 3.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $6,739,564.86. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DAL. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at 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.