UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock Price

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) had its price target hoisted by UBS Group from $95.00 to $98.00 in a report released on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 26.14% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $85.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.89.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

DAL opened at $77.69 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.41. Delta Air Lines has a 52-week low of $45.28 and a 52-week high of $77.69. The company has a market cap of $51.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The firm had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.26, for a total transaction of $7,026,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,363,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,795,856.48. The trade was a 6.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 69,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.15, for a total transaction of $4,723,067.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 69,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,727,497.35. The trade was a 49.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 204,925 shares of company stock worth $14,323,395 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 90.6% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% in the 3rd quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.