Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $62.08.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DAL shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $83.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:DAL traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $48.78. 7,396,070 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,186,050. The firm has a market cap of $31.85 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.51. Delta Air Lines has a fifty-two week low of $34.74 and a fifty-two week high of $69.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $12.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.85 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 13,654 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $826,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,264 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,298 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 3,330 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.