Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Trading Up 9.8% – Here’s Why

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s share price was up 9.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $74.11 and last traded at $74.4090. Approximately 6,153,636 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 10,338,213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on DAL shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Delta Air Lines from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. HSBC dropped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $80.20 to $79.30 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.76.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.26 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given 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 (DPR) is currently 10.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $1,074,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 54,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,893,364.09. This trade represents a 21.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 100,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were 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 owned 1,363,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,795,856.48. This trade represents a 6.83% 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 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Compass Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.5% in the first quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 128,663 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $8,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 375.0% in the first quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,058 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 11,888 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at $105,000. Royal Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at $1,675,000. Finally, Ariadne Wealth Management LP grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 10.3% in the first quarter. Ariadne Wealth Management LP now owns 3,782 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.