Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Lowered to Hold Rating by TD Cowen

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

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $87.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Delta Air Lines to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.93.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $59.17 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.16. Delta Air Lines has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $76.39. The company has a market cap of $38.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.71, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.34. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $14.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be issued a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total value of $2,491,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 95,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,625,542.51. This represents a 27.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 38,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total value of $2,896,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 104,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,835,520.20. This trade represents a 26.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 620,550 shares of company stock worth $44,127,667. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DAL. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 90.6% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 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 will present at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference on March 17 — an opportunity for management to update investors on demand trends, fuel hedging and guidance, which can calm sentiment if commentary is constructive. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen cut its price target for DAL to $71 from $82 but (in some reports) retained a Buy rating — the lower target reduces upside expectations but stopping short of a sell rating is a mixed signal. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen (reported elsewhere) downgraded Delta from “strong-buy” to “hold” — the downgrade directly reduces buy-side enthusiasm and likely pressured the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/sector headwinds: escalating Middle East conflict has pushed jet-fuel and oil prices higher and prompted analyst cuts across airlines, increasing cost uncertainty and reducing demand visibility for carriers. This broader risk-off is weighing on Delta along with peers. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Market moves: coverage notes Delta “registered a bigger fall than the market,” reflecting today’s selloff momentum and higher short-term downside risk if fuel/geopolitical fears persist. Article Title

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.