Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.11 EPS

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) released its earnings results on Friday. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11, RTT News reports. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $61.52 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.73. Delta Air Lines has a 52-week low of $36.34 and a 52-week high of $67.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $39.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 7,510 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.62, for a total value of $470,276.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,897 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,688,130.14. This trade represents a 11.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 19,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.26, for a total value of $1,077,017.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 121,961 shares in the company, valued at $6,739,564.86. The trade was a 13.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 136,809 shares of company stock worth $7,871,765. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on DAL. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.06.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.