Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Releases Q1 Earnings Guidance

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) issued an update on its first quarter earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.30-0.50 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.82. The company issued revenue guidance of $12.9-13.1 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $13.52 billion.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 5.6 %

NYSE DAL traded down $3.00 on Monday, reaching $50.28. The stock had a trading volume of 19,162,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,574,848. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $63.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.88. Delta Air Lines has a 12-month low of $37.29 and a 12-month high of $69.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 11.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.22.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total transaction of $447,271.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,455.04. This trade represents a 40.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction of $6,405,943.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at $30,721,357.15. The trade was a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Delta Air Lines stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 33.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

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.