Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

Several other brokerages have also commented on DAL. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.22.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 1.3 %

DAL opened at $65.42 on Monday. Delta Air Lines has a one year low of $36.34 and a one year high of $68.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.35.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total transaction of $3,830,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,775,004.27. This trade represents a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 10,279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.72, for a total value of $603,582.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,459 shares in the company, valued at $4,607,112.48. The trade was a 11.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 117,319 shares of company stock valued at $6,794,748 over the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Senator Investment Group LP boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 90.0% during the 2nd quarter. Senator Investment Group LP now owns 475,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $22,534,000 after purchasing an additional 225,000 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 268,636 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $13,644,000 after buying an additional 13,802 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 143.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 56,611 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,876,000 after acquiring an additional 33,378 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 175,000 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,888,000 after acquiring an additional 43,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 22.8% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 130,608 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $6,634,000 after purchasing an additional 24,249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

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.