Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty-four ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $80.3833.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Thursday, December 18th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th.

Key Headlines Impacting Delta Air Lines

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and value narrative — multiple brokers still rate DAL a buy and value-minded commentators point to a low P/E and attractive upside relative to historical targets, which can limit downside and support longer-term buyers. Zacks: Strong Value Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings date — Delta reports results on April 8; that scheduled report gives investors a formal update on margins and guidance, which could re-price the stock but is not an immediate surprise. Benzinga: Earnings note
• Neutral Sentiment: Small analyst target tweak — Rothschild trimmed its price target from $72 to $70 but kept a buy rating; a modest revision rather than a broad downgrade. Benzinga: PT cut
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical disruption and suspended Tel Aviv service — Delta suspended New York–Tel Aviv flights and faces regional airspace disruptions that reduce revenue on exposed routes and complicate operations. Yahoo: Suspension of Tel Aviv flights
• Negative Sentiment: Rising oil and jet-fuel risk — crude prices have climbed amid the Middle East conflict, pressuring jet-fuel costs and compressing near-term airline margins; the sector-wide move lower reflects those input-cost concerns. QuiverQuant: Oil-driven sell-off
• Negative Sentiment: Wider airline disruption — tens of thousands of canceled flights and ongoing hub shutdowns (Cirium/Tourism Economics coverage) increase revenue and cargo risk across carriers. Yahoo: Flight cancellations
• Negative Sentiment: Major executive reshuffle — Delta announced a sweeping leadership change (CFO Dan Janki to COO/overseeing customer care; Erik Snell to CFO; Peter Carter to president). Markets often punish executive turnover because it raises short-term execution risk and creates uncertainty about strategy continuity. MSN: Executive reshuffle

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $61.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.34. Delta Air Lines has a twelve month low of $34.74 and a twelve month high of $76.39. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.11.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $14.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.80 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.96% and a net margin of 7.90%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $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. Equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.26, for a total value of $7,026,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,363,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,795,856.48. This represents a 6.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 35,212 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.20, for a total transaction of $2,647,942.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 138,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,390,835.20. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 620,550 shares of company stock valued at $44,127,667. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 28,167 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 52,620 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,652,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 4,721 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 6,022 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 6,472 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

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.