The most recent trading session ended with Delta Air Lines (DAL) standing at $48.58, reflecting a +0.63% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.04% loss on the day.
Shares of the airline have appreciated by 16.59% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Transportation sector's gain of 10.21% and the S&P 500's gain of 13.42%.
The upcoming earnings release of Delta Air Lines will be of great interest to investors. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.97, signifying a 16.53% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $16.13 billion, down 3.2% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.26 per share and revenue of $60.9 billion. These totals would mark changes of -14.61% and -1.2%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Delta Air Lines should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 2.25% lower within the past month. Currently, Delta Air Lines is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Delta Air Lines has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.18 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 8.92, which means Delta Air Lines is trading at a premium to the group.
We can also see that DAL currently has a PEG ratio of 2.36. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. DAL's industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.94 as of yesterday's close.
The Transportation - Airline industry is part of the Transportation sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 89, placing it within the top 37% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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