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Delta Air Lines’ Earnings To Swing to Positive Territory For First Time in Seven Quarters

By:
Vivek Kumar
Published: Oct 8, 2021, 16:09 UTC

Delta Air Lines’ earnings per share (EPS) is expected to swing back to positive territory for the first time in seven quarters on Wednesday, more than doubling to $0.16 per share compared to a huge loss of -$3.30 per share seen in the same period a year ago.

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines’ earnings per share (EPS) is expected to swing back to positive territory for the first time in seven quarters on Wednesday, more than doubling to $0.16 per share compared to a huge loss of -$3.30 per share seen in the same period a year ago.

The Airline company, which provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo throughout the United States and across the world, is forecast to report revenue growth of over 170% in the third quarter to around $8.4 billion. It is worth noting that in the last two years, the airline has beaten consensus earnings estimates just three times.

“Notably, all comparisons in percentage are made to third-quarter 2019. For the third quarter of 2021, the carrier expects capacity to decline in the 28-30% band from the number reported in third-quarter 2019. The carrier anticipates total revenues to drop in the 30-35% range from third-quarter 2019 actuals,” noted analysts at ZACKS Research.

“Non-fuel unit costs in third-quarter 2021 are expected to increase in the 11-15% band from the third-quarter 2019 actuals. Fuel price per gallon in the September quarter is projected in the $2.05-$2.15 range. Capital expenditures and adjusted net debt are likely to be around $800 million and $19 billion, respectively, in the September quarter.”

At the time of writing, Delta Air Lines’ was trading 0.98% lower at $43.25 on Friday. However, the stock rose over 7% so far this year.

Delta Air Lines Stock Price Forecast

Eighteen analysts who offered stock ratings for Delta Air Lines in the last three months forecast the average price in 12 months of $55.21 with a high forecast of $67.00 and a low forecast of $45.00.

The average price target represents a 27.39% change from the last price of $43.34. From those 18 analysts, nine rated “Buy”, nine rated “Hold” while none rated “Sell”, according to Tipranks.

Morgan Stanley gave the base target price of $67 with a high of $96 under a bull scenario and $35 under the worst-case scenario. The firm gave an “Overweight” rating on the airline’s stock.

“Why Overweight? Delta Air Lines (DAL) has some of the strongest customer satisfaction numbers among the other Legacy peers, while also commanding a higher PRASM, making it our preferred Legacy carrier. While DAL cannot escape Legacy overhangs (delayed International/corporate recovery, strained balance sheet), it should rise with the industry tide. The risk-reward looks attractive,” noted Ravi Shanker, equity analyst at Morgan Stanley.

Several other analysts have also updated their stock outlook. In July, Bernstein raised the target price to $65 from $64. In June, Jefferies lifted the price objective to $60 from $50. In April, Berenberg upped the price target to $48 from $40.

Analyst Comments

“Airlines will report 3Q21 results later this month, beginning Oct 13 with Delta Air Lines’ release. We believe 3Q21 started strong, sagged in the middle and then finished strong as people started planning holiday trips,” noted Helane Becker, equity analyst at Cowen.

“We believe 4Q21 guidance will reflect a strong peak, likely >2019 levels while off-peak is likely to lag 2019 levels. Stocks to own include United Airlines (UAL), Alaska Air Group (ALK), Allegiant Travel (ALGT) & Southwest Airlines (LUV).”

Check out FX Empire’s earnings calendar

About the Author

Vivek has over five years of experience in working for the financial market as a strategist and economist.

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