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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 $55.89, moving -0.76% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.04% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.22%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.16%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the airline had lost 0.67% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Transportation sector's loss of 5.53% and the S&P 500's loss of 4.99% in that time.

DAL will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be January 10, 2019. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.28, up 33.33% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $10.92 billion, up 6.55% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.60 per share and revenue of $44.50 billion, which would represent changes of +13.59% and +7.91%, respectively, from the prior year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for DAL should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.32% higher within the past month. DAL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, DAL is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 10.06. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 12.34, so we one might conclude that DAL is trading at a discount comparatively.

Investors should also note that DAL has a PEG ratio of 0.64 right now. 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. The Transportation - Airline industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.81 as of yesterday's close.

The Transportation - Airline industry is part of the Transportation sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 54, which puts it in the top 21% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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