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

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.09, RTT News reports. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL stock traded down $1.28 on Friday, reaching $46.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,522,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,667,126. 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 has a 12-month low of $30.60 and a 12-month high of $49.81. The company has a market capitalization of $29.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.12, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.29.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued 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 payout ratio is currently 5.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DAL shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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 upped 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. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price target on the stock. One equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 71,840 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 428,768 shares in the company, valued at $16,807,705.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 429.0% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,349 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

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.