Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Announces Earnings Results

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

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.35. 6,522,430 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,667,126. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.30 and its 200-day moving average is $39.29. Delta Air Lines has a 12 month low of $30.60 and a 12 month high of $49.81. The stock has a market cap of $29.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.12, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 71,840 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.20, for a total transaction of $2,816,128.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 428,768 shares in the company, valued at $16,807,705.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 133,145 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $5,356,000 after purchasing an additional 19,798 shares during the period. O Dell Group LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 289,773 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $11,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 37,351 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 2,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth $249,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DAL. TheStreet upgraded Delta Air Lines from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com lowered Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.29.

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.