Steven Sear Sells 31,290 Shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) EVP Steven Sear sold 31,290 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.69, for a total value of $2,180,600.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 97,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,795,123.45. The trade was a 24.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

NYSE:DAL opened at $70.50 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.84. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $73.16. The stock has a market cap of $46.03 billion, a PE ratio of 9.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.38. 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 (NYSE:DAL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.02. The firm 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 20.99% and a net margin of 7.90%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DAL. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated 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. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.97.

Key Delta Air Lines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple major brokers raised price targets and maintained constructive ratings on DAL, signaling upward analyst conviction (HSBC to $80.20, Wolfe Research to $83, Goldman Sachs to $80, DBS to $80). These upgrades imply ~12–16% upside from recent levels and support medium‑term upside. HSBC Raises PT Wolfe Research Goldman Sachs
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts emphasize Delta’s strong cash flow, low leverage and resilient premium (MRO and high‑end traveler demand) as reasons the shares remain a buy despite near‑term caution. Benzinga: Caution Hides Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results: EPS modestly beat while revenue missed and management gave a cautious tone on 2026 (guidance range highlighted). Investors are parsing whether the guidance conservatism is prudent or indicates weaker demand trends — a near‑term volatility driver. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and research pieces (Zacks, MarketBeat) highlight Delta as a momentum/value play for longer‑term investors while flagging short‑term sensitivity to guidance and macro data. Zacks Momentum
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling: CEO Edward Bastian sold ~173,230 shares (~21% cut to his holding) at ~$71 (SEC filing), and several EVPs (Rahul Samant, Steven Sear, Alain Bellemare, Peter Carter) also sold large blocks over Jan 14–15, reducing their positions materially. Large insider dispositions can pressure sentiment and add selling pressure even if driven by diversification or tax planning. CEO Sale SEC EVP Samant SEC

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the second quarter worth about $386,364,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,817,783 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $330,159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058,744 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,572,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,667,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648,071 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,661,911 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $434,813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447,058 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 16,044.7% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,263,320 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $71,693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255,495 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.