Delta Air Lines (DAL) Stock Drops Despite Market Gains: Important Facts to Note

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Delta Air Lines (DAL) ended the recent trading session at $48.50, demonstrating a -0.21% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.4%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.28%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.39%.

Coming into today, shares of the airline had gained 16.74% in the past month. In that same time, the Transportation sector gained 8.23%, while the S&P 500 gained 6.69%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Delta Air Lines in its upcoming release. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.90, signifying a 19.49% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $16.13 billion, indicating a 3.2% decrease compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $5.06 per share and a revenue of $60.9 billion, indicating changes of -17.86% and -1.2%, respectively, from the former year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Delta Air Lines. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional 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 2.25% lower within the past month. Delta Air Lines is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

Looking at its valuation, Delta Air Lines is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 9.6. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 9.31.

Investors should also note that DAL has a PEG ratio of 2.47 right now. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The average PEG ratio for the Transportation - Airline industry stood at 0.88 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Transportation - Airline industry is part of the Transportation sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 149, this industry ranks in the bottom 40% of all industries, numbering over 250.