Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Reaches New 52-Week High at $50.75

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $50.75 and last traded at $50.65, with a volume of 2423771 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DAL shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.29.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 2.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.61 and its 200-day moving average is $40.52.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 8.48% and a return on equity of 41.89%. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is presently 5.14%.

Insider Activity

In other Delta Air Lines news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $4,905,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 217,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,672,495.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $2,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 143,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,166,400. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total value of $4,905,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 217,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,672,495.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 174,073 shares of company stock worth $8,581,207. 0.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 20,936,699 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $842,283,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689,053 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,981,124 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $602,691,000 after purchasing an additional 79,818 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 8.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,839,122 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $401,048,000 after purchasing an additional 865,746 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 220.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,600,741 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $346,008,000 after purchasing an additional 5,914,301 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,374,052 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $336,908,000 after purchasing an additional 826,232 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.