Delta Air shares close lower on Friday, 50 flights on international routes to be resumed this winter

Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL) announced last Friday that it intended to resume 50 flights on international routes during the winter and in 2021, which it had suspended because of the coronavirus crisis.

The air carrier said that it would resume daily flights from Seattle to Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing and Shanghai.

Delta Air shares closed lower for a second consecutive trading session in New York on Friday. It has also been the steepest single-session loss since August 18th. The stock went down 1.27% ($0.35) to $27.27, after touching an intraday low at $27.17 and an intraday high at $27.86 respectively.

Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc have retreated 53.37% so far in 2020 compared with a 5.15% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2019, Delta Air’s stock went up 17.19%, thus, it again underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 28.88% gain.

“While significant hurdles remain in the global fight against the pandemic, we are ready to connect customers to the people, places, opportunities and experiences they’re longing for,” Joe Esposito, senior vice president for network planning, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

In June, the company had said that flights between Seattle and Shanghai would be resumed after cancellations that occurred in February.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 16 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Delta Air’s stock price, have a median target of $35.50, with a high estimate of $47.00 and a low estimate of $21.00. The median estimate represents a 30.18% upside compared to the closing price of $27.27 on August 21st.

The same media also reported that at least 9 out of 19 surveyed investment analysts had rated Delta Air’s stock as “Buy”, while 7 – as “Hold”.