Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the twenty-four ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $75.0739.

DAL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $69.20 to $73.70 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $63.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Delta Air Lines in a report on Thursday, December 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 17th.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE DAL opened at $70.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $63.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Delta Air Lines has a 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $72.34. The company has a market capitalization of $46.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.38.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 15th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 23.83% and a net margin of 7.36%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 23,323 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.33, for a total value of $1,453,722.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 81,109 shares in the company, valued at $5,055,523.97. This represents a 22.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 14,010 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.25, for a total transaction of $858,112.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $968,730. This trade represents a 46.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.3% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,493 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 3.2% during the third quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 5,871 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.6% during the second quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,844 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,237 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $921,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,225 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.