Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Given New $76.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) had its target price upped by Citigroup from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the transportation company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.83.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $64.14 on Tuesday. 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 moving average of $55.74 and a 200-day moving average of $49.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.33. Delta Air Lines has a fifty-two week low of $35.46 and a fifty-two week high of $66.25.

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

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.33%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares in the company, valued at $5,499,635.40. This represents a 3.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $1,305,148.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,197,608.72. This trade represents a 52.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $281,206,000. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $189,296,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter valued at $60,217,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,933,785 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $471,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,414,074,000 after purchasing an additional 749,099 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is 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.