Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts remain bullish on Delta: Twenty-three of 25 analysts rate the stock a buy, resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average 12-month price target of $100.40.
• Recent brokerages raised their price targets to between $104 and $114, while Delta shares opened at $87.53 and remain near their 52-week high of $95.68.
• Delta exceeded quarterly expectations with $1.56 in EPS and $17.67 billion in revenue, while increasing its quarterly dividend to $0.215 per share; however, insiders sold 65,331 shares during the quarter.

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $100.4043.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DAL. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Raymond James Financial cut Delta Air Lines from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $75.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total transaction of $2,036,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 95,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,738,836. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 9,710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $737,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 138,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,552,904. This represents a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 65,331 shares of company stock valued at $5,036,638. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% during the 3rd quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 451.6% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 524 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 195.9% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company's stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $87.53 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.14. Delta Air Lines has a 52-week low of $50.44 and a 52-week high of $95.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The transportation company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.07. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 17.52%. The firm had revenue of $17.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.10 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were issued a dividend of $0.215 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. This is a boost from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is 14.26%.

More Delta Air Lines News

Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts remain optimistic about Delta’s prospects, with coverage emphasizing the stock’s market outperformance and favorable recommendations. This supports investor confidence, although the reports provide limited new fundamental information. Do Wall Street Analysts Like Delta Air Lines Stock? Do Wall Street Analysts Like Delta Air Lines Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: A Delta partnership with DraftKings will offer customers a free-to-play sports knowledge contest. The initiative could modestly strengthen customer engagement and ancillary revenue opportunities, but its direct financial effect is likely limited. Delta, DraftKings partner on free-to-play sports knowledge contest
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta has attracted elevated attention from Zacks users, while broker commentary continues to favor the stock. The increased visibility may support trading interest, but it does not represent a new earnings or operating catalyst. Delta Air Lines Is a Trending Stock Brokers Suggest Investing in Delta
• Neutral Sentiment: Boeing narrowly led Airbus in orders at the Farnborough Airshow. A healthier Boeing could eventually improve aircraft supply and fleet-planning flexibility for airlines such as Delta, but the development has no immediate, material impact on DAL. Airlines Are Still Willing to Bet on Boeing

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.

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