Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $69.89, but opened at $74.42. Delta Air Lines shares last traded at $74.1960, with a volume of 2,232,315 shares traded.

Delta Air Lines News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Fuel relief from Strait of Hormuz comments — Iran said the Strait of Hormuz will remain open, triggering a steep drop in crude (WTI and Brent) and easing near‑term jet‑fuel cost pressure for airlines, which lifted Delta shares. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher targets after Q1 — Several brokers have raised price targets and maintained buy ratings following Delta’s better‑than‑expected Q1 results and favorable commentary on premium and loyalty revenue, supporting upside sentiment. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks moves rating to Hold — Zacks upgraded DAL from “strong sell” to “hold,” which is mild support but not a strong buy signal. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry M&A chatter — Ongoing discussion about consolidation among U.S. carriers (United/American rumors) can rotate investor flows across names; Delta may benefit as a standalone leader but the direct impact is indirect. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling disclosed — EVP John Laughter sold ~15,000 shares (SEC filing), which can spook some investors even if sales are for diversification or liquidity. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Sector risk from Spirit distress — Reports of rising bankruptcy/liquidation risk at Spirit Airlines are weighing on sector sentiment and could create volatility for peers, including Delta. Read More.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on DAL shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. HSBC reduced their target price on Delta Air Lines from $80.20 to $79.30 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Delta Air Lines from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.26.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 2.6%

The firm has a market cap of $47.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.53 and a 200 day moving average of $65.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.42.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $1,074,150.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 54,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,893,364.09. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,363,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,795,856.48. This trade represents a 6.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 353,611 shares of company stock worth $25,182,798 in the last 90 days. 0.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in 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 during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% in 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. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% in the third quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

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.