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Delta Air Lines (DAL) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $55.80, moving -0.61% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.32%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.38%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.4%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the airline had lost 2.64% over the past month. This has lagged the Transportation sector's loss of 2.31% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.51% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from DAL as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect DAL to post earnings of $1.39 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 6.92%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $11.34 billion, up 5.58% from the prior-year quarter.

DAL's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $7.01 per share and revenue of $46.90 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +24.07% and +5.54%, respectively.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for DAL. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.04% higher within the past month. DAL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, DAL currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 8.01. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 9.14, which means DAL is trading at a discount to the group.

Also, we should mention that DAL has a PEG ratio of 0.67. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. Transportation - Airline stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 0.63 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Transportation - Airline industry is part of the Transportation sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 67, which puts it in the top 27% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow DAL in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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