Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, twenty-one have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $78.80.

DAL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Seaport Research Partners lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $73.70 to $80.20 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, December 19th.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of DAL opened at $63.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $41.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.34. Delta Air Lines has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $76.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $66.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced 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. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.96% and a net margin of 7.90%.The business had revenue of $14.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total value of $2,491,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 95,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,625,542.51. This represents a 27.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 38,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total value of $2,896,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 104,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,835,520.20. The trade was a 26.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 620,550 shares of company stock valued at $44,127,667. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DAL. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 90.6% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% in the 3rd quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.