UBS Group Upgrades Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) to Buy

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) was upgraded by analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $66.00 target price on the transportation company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $46.00. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 31.71% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $50.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Dbs Bank lowered Delta Air Lines from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $83.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.08.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL opened at $50.11 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Delta Air Lines has a 1 year low of $34.74 and a 1 year high of $69.98. The firm has a market cap of $32.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.40, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.46.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.38). Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The company had revenue of $12.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 2,150 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,555 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,298 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $865,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 584 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

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.