Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock Rating Upgraded by TD Cowen

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Argus set a $80.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.76.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

DAL opened at $65.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $42.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.34. Delta Air Lines has a 52-week low of $34.74 and a 52-week high of $76.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $67.32 and its 200-day moving average is $64.13.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 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 business had revenue of $14.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 expect that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 62,528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.18, for a total transaction of $4,388,215.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,939 shares in the company, valued at $1,469,499.02. The trade was a 74.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter W. Carter sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.82, for a total value of $2,020,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 421,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,554,886.08. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 620,550 shares of company stock worth $44,127,667 over the last three months. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,572,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,667,479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,648,071 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,211,101 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,680,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012,265 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,163,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,607,557,000 after acquiring an additional 165,729 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,413,841 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,215,766,000 after purchasing an additional 202,865 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 137.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,811,787 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $958,538,000 after purchasing an additional 7,994,004 shares during the period. 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 raised its March‑quarter revenue outlook, citing broad‑based strength across domestic and international leisure and corporate demand; management says stronger bookings are helping offset higher fuel costs and winter disruption risk. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen upgraded DAL to strong‑buy and raised its price target to $77, signaling bullish analyst conviction that Delta can convert demand into earnings. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated its Buy rating on Delta, supporting the view that the carrier’s revenue momentum and yield management are intact. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: High‑profile commentators, including Jim Cramer, highlighted Delta’s relative resilience to rising oil prices — a sentiment that can support retail buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Technicals: DAL just crossed above its 200‑day moving average, a bullish signal that can attract momentum traders and ETFs that track breakout rules. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta scheduled an April 8 webcast for March‑quarter results — an upcoming catalyst that will update investors on how revenue strength and fuel headwinds translate to EPS. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS notes the whole airline group is increasingly reliant on pricing power (multiple fare hikes recently); this is positive if sustained but conditional on demand holding up. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded DAL to “strong sell” (contrasting some upgrades), introducing conflicting analyst signals that can increase volatility. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms trimmed price targets (Wells Fargo to $75, UBS to $83), reflecting fuel‑price risk from Middle East disruptions that could compress margins if fares and premiums don’t fully offset jet‑fuel cost increases. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Operational risk: CEO Ed Bastian publicly criticized unpaid TSA agents and ongoing airport staffing issues, underscoring potential for customer experience disruption and short‑term operational costs. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Macro headwind — jet fuel and crude have risen amid Middle East tensions; while demand has held up so far, sustained higher fuel prices remain the primary downside risk to margins. Read More.

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.