Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to Buy Rating

Key Points

• Delta Air Lines was upgraded from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" rating by Jefferies Financial Group, with a target price of $70.00 indicating a potential upside of 24.75% from the stock's previous close.
• Various firms have recently revised their price targets for Delta, with Barclays setting it at $65.00 and HSBC increasing it to $69.20, reflecting a positive consensus among analysts.
• The company's recent earnings report showed Delta beat EPS estimates at $2.10, although its revenue slightly decreased compared to the previous year, prompting analysts to forecast an EPS of 7.63 for the current year.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $70.00 price objective on the transportation company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's target price points to a potential upside of 24.75% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $68.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Seaport Global Securities increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $69.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Dbs Bank lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.69.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of DAL opened at $56.11 on Wednesday. Delta Air Lines has a one year low of $34.74 and a one year high of $69.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $58.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $36.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.50.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 24.86% and a net margin of 7.24%.The company had revenue of $15.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.36 EPS. Delta Air Lines's quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.56, for a total value of $2,523,701.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 131,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,318,974.36. This trade represents a 25.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the director directly owned 33,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,017,971.50. This trade represents a 6.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 136,473 shares of company stock worth $7,663,496. 0.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 184.6% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 572 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 593 shares during the period. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.