Comparing Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA (OTCMKTS:NWARF)

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA (OTCMKTS:NWARF) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Delta Air Lines and Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Delta Air Lines	0	0	12	1	3.08
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA	0	0	0	0	N/A

Delta Air Lines currently has a consensus target price of $65.40, suggesting a potential upside of 27.41%. Given Delta Air Lines’ higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Delta Air Lines is more favorable than Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA.

Profitability

This table compares Delta Air Lines and Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Delta Air Lines	7.46%	36.02%	5.32%
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Delta Air Lines and Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Delta Air Lines	$58.05 billion	0.57	$4.61 billion	$6.95	7.39
Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA	N/A	N/A	N/A	($8.11)	-0.14

Delta Air Lines has higher revenue and earnings than Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA. Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Delta Air Lines, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

69.9% of Delta Air Lines shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 31.8% of Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Delta Air Lines shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Delta Air Lines beats Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA on 11 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company sells its tickets through various distribution channels, including delta.com and the Fly Delta app; acts as a reservations specialists; and operates online travel and traditional brick and mortar agencies. It also provides aircraft maintenance and engineering support, repair, and overhaul services; and vacation packages to third-party consumers. The company operates through a fleet of approximately 1,273 aircrafts. Delta Air Lines, Inc. was founded in 1924 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, together with its subsidiaries, provides air travel services in Norway and internationally. It is also involved in aircraft financing, leasing, and ownership activities; and cargo activities. It operates a fleet of 87 aircrafts. Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Fornebu, Norway.