Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $76.95 and last traded at $75.8520, with a volume of 400149 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on DAL shares. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Delta Air Lines from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Seaport Research Partners increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.76.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $50.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $67.89 and a 200-day moving average of $67.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.The business had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is 10.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.26, for a total value of $7,026,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,363,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,795,856.48. This represents a 6.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 20,621 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.75, for a total value of $1,500,177.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 120,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,731,818.75. The trade was a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 204,925 shares of company stock valued at $14,323,395 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 90.6% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% during the 3rd quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.