NEW YORK (TheStreet) — Delta Air Lines Inc.
(DAL – Get Report) will report its 2015 first quarter financial results before the market open on Wednesday morning. Analysts believe the airliner will report earnings per share and revenue that have increased when compared to the year-ago-quarter.
The company has been forecast to post earnings of 44 cents per share on revenue of $9.41 billion for the most recent quarter.
Shares of Delta Air Lines are down by 0.26% to $42.96 in mid-morning trading on Tuesday.
Last year, Delta said it earned an adjusted 33 cents per diluted share on revenue of $8.29 billion.
“The March quarter’s record results in the face of unprecedented weather show the strength and resilience of Delta. By delivering the industry’s best customer service, operational reliability and financial performance, Delta people continue to show that they are the very best in the business,” Delta CEO Richard Anderson said in the company’s 2014 first quarter earnings release. For more on Delta’s upcoming earnings results click here. Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates DELTA AIR LINES INC as a Buy with a ratings score of B-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: “We rate DELTA AIR LINES INC (DAL) a BUY. This is driven by several positive factors, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company’s strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth and solid stock price performance. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.” Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:- DAL’s revenue growth trails the industry average of 22.4%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 6.3%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company’s bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.
- DELTA AIR LINES INC has experienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. The company has suffered a declining pattern of earnings per share over the past two years. However, we anticipate this trend to reverse over the coming year. During the past fiscal year, DELTA AIR LINES INC reported lower earnings of $0.75 versus $12.29 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($4.65 versus $0.75).
- Looking at where the stock is today compared to one year ago, we find that it is not only higher, but it has also clearly outperformed the rise in the SP 500 over the same period, despite the company’s weak earnings results. The stock’s price rise over the last year has driven it to a level which is somewhat expensive compared to the rest of its industry. We feel, however, that other strengths this company displays justify these higher price levels.
- Even though the current debt-to-equity ratio is 1.11, it is still below the industry average, suggesting that this level of debt is acceptable within the Airlines industry. Even though the debt-to-equity ratio shows mixed results, the company’s quick ratio of 0.39 is very low and demonstrates very weak liquidity.
- Return on equity has greatly decreased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of major weakness within the corporation. In comparison to the other companies in the Airlines industry and the overall market, DELTA AIR LINES INC’s return on equity is significantly below that of the industry average and is below that of the SP 500.
- You can view the full analysis from the report here: DAL Ratings Report