Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Upgraded at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on DAL. Argus set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings cut Delta Air Lines from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.76.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $63.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $41.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.14. Delta Air Lines has a 1 year low of $34.74 and a 1 year high of $76.39.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $14.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.80 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.96% and a net margin of 7.90%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 EPS. Delta Air Lines has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.900 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 6.500-7.500 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 26th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 9.78%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Erik Storey Snell sold 39,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total value of $2,799,608.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,530,087.50. This trade represents a 52.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 173,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $12,299,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,823 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,930,433. This represents a 21.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 620,550 shares of company stock worth $44,127,667 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter valued at $178,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter worth $555,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,844 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 183,894 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $9,044,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Delta raised its first‑quarter revenue outlook (now in the high single digits) and reported broad‑based demand strength across domestic and international leisure and corporate travel; management says stronger bookings and MRO revenue are helping offset a roughly $400M fuel headwind, and Q1 EPS guidance remains 0.50–0.90 — this supports near‑term revenue resilience and earnings visibility.
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target on DAL to $77 (from $71), signaling incremental analyst confidence in Delta’s outlook and providing some upward price support. Delta Air Lines price target raised to $77 from $71 at TD Cowen
• Positive Sentiment: Delta hit an 80+ relative strength (RS) rating, a technical signal that can attract momentum buyers and tactical flows. Delta Air Lines clears key benchmark, hitting 80-plus RS rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup cut its price target from $87 to $77 but kept a “Buy” rating — the trimmed target reduces upside expectations vs. prior forecasts but the buy stance remains supportive. Citigroup lowers DAL price target to $77 (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta has seen a strong weekly gain, yet social (Reddit) sentiment is weak — a divergence that can produce short‑term volatility as retail flows and sentiment traders react differently to fundamentals. Delta Stock Up 9.38% This Week But Reddit Sentiment Just Hit 22 Out of 100
• Negative Sentiment: Oil prices jumped as Iran targeted Gulf production sites — higher crude/jet fuel increases unit costs for airlines and can erode margins if carriers can’t fully pass costs through fares. This geopolitical-driven fuel volatility is a direct headwind for Delta. Oil prices swing higher as Iran targets Gulf production sites
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks downgraded Delta to “strong sell” in recent headlines, a sharp negative call that could pressure sentiment and trigger short-term selling by some funds. Zacks downgrades DAL to strong sell
• Negative Sentiment: Operational risk: Delta’s CEO publicly criticized unpaid TSA agents and ongoing airport issues — sustained operational disruption or staffing problems could weigh on customer experience and near‑term costs. Delta CEO blasts Congress over unpaid TSA agents as airport chaos continues

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.