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

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

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $47.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.41. Delta Air Lines has a 52-week low of $30.60 and a 52-week high of $49.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $43.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.29.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Thursday. Bank of America raised their target price 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. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $58.29.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 71,840 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 428,768 shares in the company, valued at $16,807,705.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 133,145 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $5,356,000 after acquiring an additional 19,798 shares in the last quarter. O Dell Group LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 289,773 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $11,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 37,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 2,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at $249,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

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.