Delta Air Lines (DAL) Competitors

American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) are both transportation companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Does the media refer more to AAL or DAL?

In the previous week, Delta Air Lines had 38 more articles in the media than American Airlines Group. MarketBeat recorded 52 mentions for Delta Air Lines and 14 mentions for American Airlines Group. Delta Air Lines' average media sentiment score of 0.74 beat American Airlines Group's score of 0.57 indicating that Delta Air Lines is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
American Airlines Group	9 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Delta Air Lines	33 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	5 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AAL or DAL a better dividend stock?

American Airlines Group pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Delta Air Lines pays an annual dividend of $0.75 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. American Airlines Group pays out 44.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Delta Air Lines pays out 10.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Delta Air Lines has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Which has better valuation & earnings, AAL or DAL?

Delta Air Lines has higher revenue and earnings than American Airlines Group. Delta Air Lines is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Airlines Group, 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
American Airlines Group	$54.19B	0.15	$846M	$0.90	14.01
Delta Air Lines	$61.93B	0.60	$3.46B	$6.90	8.22

Which has more risk and volatility, AAL or DAL?

American Airlines Group has a beta of 1.36, meaning that its stock price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Delta Air Lines has a beta of 1.49, meaning that its stock price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is AAL or DAL more profitable?

Delta Air Lines has a net margin of 7.24% compared to American Airlines Group's net margin of 1.26%. Delta Air Lines' return on equity of 24.86% beat American Airlines Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Airlines Group	1.26%	-26.59%	1.91%
Delta Air Lines	7.24%	24.86%	5.01%

Do analysts rate AAL or DAL?

American Airlines Group currently has a consensus price target of $15.89, indicating a potential upside of 26.04%. Delta Air Lines has a consensus price target of $66.21, indicating a potential upside of 16.72%. Given American Airlines Group's higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe American Airlines Group is more favorable than Delta Air Lines.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Airlines Group	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63
Delta Air Lines	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Do insiders & institutionals believe in AAL or DAL?

52.4% of American Airlines Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.9% of Delta Air Lines shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of American Airlines Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Delta Air Lines shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Delta Air Lines beats American Airlines Group on 16 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.