Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $68.99 and last traded at $68.19, with a volume of 8317204 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $61.42.

The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 7,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.62, for a total transaction of $470,276.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,688,130.14. This represents a 11.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total value 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. This represents a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 136,809 shares of company stock worth $7,871,765 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DAL. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the third quarter worth $281,206,000. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $189,296,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,217,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 12.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,933,785 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $471,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,674 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,414,074,000 after purchasing an additional 749,099 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.10 and a 200 day moving average of $51.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35.

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.