Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Sanford C. Bernstein Analyst Says

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein raised Delta Air Lines’ price target from $81 to $88, implying about 21% upside from the current share price.
• Other analysts remain broadly positive on DAL, with the stock carrying an average “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $79.76.
• Delta recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $0.64 versus $0.61 expected and revenue of $14.2 billion, while institutional investors still hold the majority of shares.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by Sanford C. Bernstein from $81.00 to $88.00 in a research note issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. Sanford C. Bernstein's price target suggests a potential upside of 21.09% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on DAL. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Bank of America cut their target price on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Seaport Research Partners upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.76.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE DAL opened at $72.67 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $47.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.29. Delta Air Lines has a 52-week low of $45.28 and a 52-week high of $76.39.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $1,074,150.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 54,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,364.09. The trade was a 21.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 20,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.75, for a total transaction of $1,500,177.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 120,025 shares in the company, valued at $8,731,818.75. This trade represents a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 204,925 shares of company stock worth $14,323,395 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at approximately $363,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $790,000. Andra AP fonden acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,456,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,227 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust Co lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 274,125 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $18,224,000 after purchasing an additional 19,972 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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