Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Sets New 1-Year High Following Strong Earnings

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $68.99 and last traded at $68.19, with a volume of 8317204 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $61.42.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 7,510 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.62, for a total transaction of $470,276.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,897 shares in the company, valued at $3,688,130.14. The trade was a 11.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 136,809 shares of company stock worth $7,871,765. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 6,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,645 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 6.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,198 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $43.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30, 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.