Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.09, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE DAL opened at $47.63 on Friday. Delta Air Lines has a 1 year low of $30.60 and a 1 year high of $49.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $43.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.29. The company has a market cap of $30.64 billion, a PE ratio of 6.12, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $58.29.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 71,840 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.20, for a total value of $2,816,128.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 428,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,807,705.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter valued at about $502,000. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, O Dell Group LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 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.