Delta Air Lines’ (DAL) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group restated their buy rating on shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a $83.00 price objective on the transportation company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $71.22.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $64.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Delta Air Lines has a one year low of $35.28 and a one year high of $66.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.34 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.33.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. Delta Air Lines’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 6.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total value of $1,077,017.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 121,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,739,564.86. This trade represents a 13.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total value of $3,830,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,775,004.27. The trade was a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,240 shares of company stock valued at $8,044,893 over the last 90 days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the second quarter worth $41,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Delta Air Lines

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.