By: Martin Blanc Published: Jun 10, 2015 at 1:37 pm EST

According to a research note published on Wednesday, Credit Suisse weighs-in on tentative pilot agreement while reiterating an Outperform rating on Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSEAL) stock with a price target of $57. The sell-side firm believes that 15% increase in fixed rates should offset by 20% profit sharing threshold increase from $2.5 billion to $6 billion.

Details of the tentative pilot agreement were released today ahead of the Master Executive Council (MEC) voting this week on whether to send the agreement to the membership for ratification. With the release of details before a closed vote shows that MEC members will ratify the agreement over the next several weeks, which allows Delta to reach an agreement with its pilots approximately six months ahead of the amendable date.

Credit Suisse noted that the fixed increase of 15% by the amendable date is slightly more than it expected, but the profit sharing offset is more significant at this point. With the 20% profit sharing threshold moving to $6 billion for all employees, the firm expects approximately $500 million of potential savings, compared to $2.5 billion of threshold. The firm believes that this will be large enough saving to offset the fixed increase of 15% for pilots, giving extra cost of approximately $400 million.

According to Bloomberg, 15 analysts recommend a Buy on Delta Air Lines stock, two mark a Hold, and only one tags a Sell. The consensus 12-month target price on the stock is $58.15, showing an upside potential of 41.14% on the current trading price. The stock is currently trading up 1.18% at $41.2 as of 12:41 PM EDT.


Delta Air Lines Inc Stock: Profit Sharing Reduction Helps Offset 15% Increase, Says Credit Suisse