Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock Price

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Bank of America from $74.00 to $80.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target points to a potential upside of 11.31% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $87.00 price target on Delta Air Lines in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, December 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-two have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.77.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL opened at $71.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.53. The firm has a market cap of $46.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.38. Delta Air Lines has a 1 year low of $34.74 and a 1 year high of $72.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 15th. The transportation company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 23.83%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter. Research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 23,323 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.33, for a total transaction of $1,453,722.59. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 81,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,055,523.97. The trade was a 22.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 14,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.25, for a total value of $858,112.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,816 shares in the company, valued at $968,730. This represents a 46.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Red Spruce Capital LLC lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 52,323 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,631,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 31,400 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,179,000 after acquiring an additional 3,195 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,408 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,844 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 4,721 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 114.8% during the third quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 41,137 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $2,330,000 after acquiring an additional 21,989 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is 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.