Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock

Key Points

• Bank of America has raised its target price for Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) from $70 to $74, suggesting a potential upside of 20.86% from the current stock price, while maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Other analysts, including Rothschild & Co Redburn and Raymond James Financial, have also increased their price targets, with Delta Air Lines currently holding an average target price of $71.53 and a consensus rating of "Buy".
• Delta Air Lines reported $0.22 earnings per share in its last quarterly results, alongside a revenue of $8.40 billion and a net margin of 7.36%.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $70.00 to $74.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the transportation company's stock. Bank of America's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 20.86% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on DAL. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday. Barclays boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Delta Air Lines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $71.53.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $61.23 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Delta Air Lines has a one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $69.98. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $58.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.62, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.50.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 15th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 23.83%. As a group, analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, Director Michael P. Huerta sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.70, for a total transaction of $151,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,017,971.50. The trade was a 6.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.28, for a total value of $1,969,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,615,278.44. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 184.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 572 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2,280.8% in the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 619 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the period. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

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.

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