Citigroup Issues Positive Forecast for Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock Price

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) had its target price increased by analysts at Citigroup from $65.00 to $76.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 16.87% from the company’s current price.

DAL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.83.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE:DAL traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $65.03. 1,256,149 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,342,519. Delta Air Lines has a 1-year low of $35.46 and a 1-year high of $66.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.96 billion, a PE ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $55.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.19.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,499,635.40. This trade represents a 3.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total value of $3,830,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $24,775,004.27. The trade was a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 140,240 shares of company stock worth $8,044,893. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter valued at $281,206,000. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the third quarter valued at approximately $189,296,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth $60,217,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,933,785 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $471,330,000 after buying an additional 1,105,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.8% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 27,841,592 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,414,074,000 after acquiring an additional 749,099 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.