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

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The transportation company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.09, RTT News reports. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 46.35% and a net margin of 7.94%. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $47.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.18. Delta Air Lines has a 1 year low of $30.60 and a 1 year high of $49.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.44 billion, a PE ratio of 6.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.43.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 5.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 71,840 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.20, for a total value of $2,816,128.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 428,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,807,705.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. O Dell Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 85.8% during the first quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $58.00.

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.