Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

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

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE DAL traded down $0.77 on Friday, hitting $46.86. 16,343,257 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,773,686. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Delta Air Lines has a 1-year low of $30.60 and a 1-year high of $49.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $43.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.15 billion, a PE ratio of 6.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.43.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 5.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter worth $502,000. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth $36,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, O Dell Group LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. TheStreet raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.29.

About Delta Air Lines

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.