Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $70.71 and last traded at $69.9970, with a volume of 2327194 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $69.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on DAL. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $71.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Seaport Global Securities increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $69.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-one have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.08.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $45.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $60.94 and its 200-day moving average is $56.99.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 15th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 23.83% and a net margin of 7.36%. Equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 16th were paid a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 16th. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 10.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 14,010 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.25, for a total transaction of $858,112.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $968,730. This represents a 46.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 23,323 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.33, for a total transaction of $1,453,722.59. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 81,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,055,523.97. The trade was a 22.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 25,160 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,428,000 after buying an additional 2,153 shares during the period. Investment Research Partners LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $295,000. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter worth approximately $139,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 17.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,364 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,496,000 after acquiring an additional 3,884 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,091,000. 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.