Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Upgraded by TD Cowen to Strong-Buy Rating

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) was upgraded by research analysts at TD Cowen from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Seaport Research Partners raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $87.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.76.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 1.6%

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $63.77 on Wednesday. Delta Air Lines has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $76.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $41.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.31, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $14.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. The company’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. Equities analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 173,230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erik Storey Snell sold 39,420 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total transaction of $2,799,608.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,625 shares in the company, valued at $2,530,087.50. The trade was a 52.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 620,550 shares of company stock worth $44,127,667. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% during the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Delta Air Lines

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

• Positive Sentiment: Delta raised its Q1 revenue outlook and cited accelerating demand from both corporate and leisure customers, which supported an intraday rally and helped lift sector peers. Delta Lifts Revenue Guidance (WSJ)
• Positive Sentiment: Management reiterated capacity flexibility and said demand remains strong despite higher fuel costs — a message investors read as evidence Delta can protect near-term profitability. CNBC: Delta maintains guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reaffirmed a Buy rating on DAL, adding support from the analyst community and helping investor confidence after the guidance update. Barclays Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary highlighted Delta’s improved relative strength and technical momentum after the guidance-driven bounce, which can attract momentum-focused traders even as macro risks remain. MSN: Rising Relative Strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro pieces note markets trying to look through $100 oil and that investors are parsing Fed signals alongside geopolitical risk — context that can amplify swings in airlines but not necessarily change fundamentals immediately. Yahoo: Markets & $100 oil
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its price target for DAL to $75, signaling some analyst-level downside to valuation assumptions as fuel-cost estimates rise. Wells Fargo lowers PT
• Negative Sentiment: UBS also lowered its price target to $83, reflecting renewed caution on how higher jet-fuel will affect margins — these trims can cap near-term upside. UBS lowers PT
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing Middle East strikes and rising jet-fuel prices are increasing costs industry-wide (Delta has cited a multi-hundred-million-dollar hit), a headwind that offsets some of the positive demand news and pressures margins if sustained. Yahoo: Jet fuel & airfares rising

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.