Delta Air Lines (DAL) Competitors

United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) are both large-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, community ranking, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, media sentiment, risk and dividends.

Does the media prefer UAL or DAL?

In the previous week, United Airlines and United Airlines both had 40 articles in the media. United Airlines' average media sentiment score of 1.34 beat Delta Air Lines' score of 1.07 indicating that United Airlines is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
United Airlines	26 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Delta Air Lines	26 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	5 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, UAL or DAL?

United Airlines has a beta of 1.19, meaning that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Delta Air Lines has a beta of 1.23, meaning that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer UAL or DAL?

United Airlines currently has a consensus price target of $96.60, suggesting a potential upside of 39.68%. Delta Air Lines has a consensus price target of $61.06, suggesting a potential upside of 47.02%. Given Delta Air Lines' higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Delta Air Lines is more favorable than United Airlines.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Airlines	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Delta Air Lines	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.93

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, UAL or DAL?

Delta Air Lines has higher revenue and earnings than United Airlines. United Airlines is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Delta Air Lines, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Airlines	$57.74B	0.39	$3.15B	$10.97	6.30
Delta Air Lines	$61.94B	0.44	$3.46B	$5.64	7.36

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer UAL or DAL?

Delta Air Lines received 252 more outperform votes than United Airlines when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 76.56% of users gave Delta Air Lines an outperform vote while only 66.69% of users gave United Airlines an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
United Airlines	Outperform Votes 1009 66.69%	Underperform Votes 504 33.31%
Delta Air Lines	Outperform Votes 1261 76.56%	Underperform Votes 386 23.44%

Is UAL or DAL more profitable?

Delta Air Lines has a net margin of 5.61% compared to United Airlines' net margin of 5.52%. United Airlines' return on equity of 32.26% beat Delta Air Lines' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Airlines	5.52%	32.26%	4.84%
Delta Air Lines	5.61%	30.41%	5.30%

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of UAL or DAL?

69.7% of United Airlines shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.9% of Delta Air Lines shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of United Airlines shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Delta Air Lines shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Delta Air Lines beats United Airlines on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.