Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Reaches New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Delta Air Lines shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $86.64 after closing at $83.06 the previous day, reflecting strong recent momentum in the stock.
• Recent analyst action has been mixed, but the overall tone remains positive: UBS raised its price target to $98 and reiterated a buy rating, while MarketBeat shows an average rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $80.85.
• The company posted solid quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue expectations with $0.64 EPS on $14.20 billion in revenue, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.1875 per share, or $0.75 annually.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $86.64 and last traded at $86.7960, with a volume of 138361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $83.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered Delta Air Lines from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.85.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $55.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.30. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $73.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.60.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The business had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 9,710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $737,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 69,304 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.15, for a total value of $4,723,067.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 69,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,727,497.35. This represents a 49.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 149,635 shares of company stock worth $10,833,855 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DAL. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 90.6% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

About Delta Air Lines

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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