Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Sets New 12-Month High at $50.75

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $50.75 and last traded at $50.65, with a volume of 2423771 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on DAL shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.29.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $32.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.63, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.38.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The firm had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.14%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $4,905,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 217,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,672,495.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $4,905,000.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 217,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,672,495.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie Cw Chiang purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $49.50 per share, with a total value of $495,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 174,073 shares of company stock valued at $8,581,207. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,936,699 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $842,283,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689,053 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,981,124 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $602,691,000 after acquiring an additional 79,818 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,839,122 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $401,048,000 after acquiring an additional 865,746 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 220.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,600,741 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $346,008,000 after purchasing an additional 5,914,301 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,374,052 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $336,908,000 after purchasing an additional 826,232 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.