Comparing Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Qantas Airways (OTCMKTS:QUBSF)

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Qantas Airways (OTCMKTS:QUBSF) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

69.9% of Delta Air Lines shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.1% of Qantas Airways shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Delta Air Lines shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Delta Air Lines and Qantas Airways, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Delta Air Lines	0	0	12	1	3.08
Qantas Airways	0	0	0	0	N/A

Delta Air Lines currently has a consensus price target of $65.40, suggesting a potential upside of 20.84%. Given Delta Air Lines’ higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Delta Air Lines is more favorable than Qantas Airways.

Profitability

This table compares Delta Air Lines and Qantas Airways’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Delta Air Lines	7.46%	36.02%	5.32%
Qantas Airways	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Delta Air Lines and Qantas Airways”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Delta Air Lines	$60.31 billion	0.58	$4.61 billion	$6.95	7.79
Qantas Airways	N/A	N/A	N/A	($1.29)	-4.09

Delta Air Lines has higher revenue and earnings than Qantas Airways. Qantas Airways is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Delta Air Lines, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Delta Air Lines beats Qantas Airways on 11 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company sells its tickets through various distribution channels, including delta.com and the Fly Delta app; acts as a reservations specialists; and operates online travel and traditional brick and mortar agencies. It also provides aircraft maintenance and engineering support, repair, and overhaul services; and vacation packages to third-party consumers. The company operates through a fleet of approximately 1,273 aircrafts. Delta Air Lines, Inc. was founded in 1924 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways Limited provides air transportation services in Australia and internationally. The company operates through Qantas Domestic, Qantas International, Jetstar Group, and Qantas Loyalty segments. It offers passenger flying, and air cargo and express freight services; and customer loyalty recognition programs. The company operates a fleet of aircraft under the Qantas and Jetstar brands. Qantas Airways Limited was founded in 1920 and is based in Mascot, Australia.