Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $39.90 Million Holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 703,105 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 13,895 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Delta Air Lines worth $39,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,493 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 5,871 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,101 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $914,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 10,578 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Erik Storey Snell sold 39,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total value of $2,799,608.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,530,087.50. This represents a 52.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 36,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total transaction of $2,491,560.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 95,731 shares in the company, valued at $6,625,542.51. This trade represents a 27.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 357,210 shares of company stock worth $25,148,440 over the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $63.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-two have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.47.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 1.4%

DAL opened at $69.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.74 and a twelve month high of $73.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.20.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $14.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.80 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 20.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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. Analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is 9.78%.

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.