Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on DAL. Weiss Ratings downgraded Delta Air Lines from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.76.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of DAL stock opened at $65.09 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Delta Air Lines has a 12-month low of $34.74 and a 12-month high of $76.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $67.32 and its 200 day moving average is $64.13.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. The company’s revenue 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. Research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total value of $2,491,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 95,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,625,542.51. This represents a 27.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 173,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 632,823 shares in the company, valued at $44,930,433. The trade was a 21.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 620,550 shares of company stock valued at $44,127,667. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $3,667,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648,071 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,012,265 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,163,644 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,607,557,000 after acquiring an additional 165,729 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.2% in the 4th 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 increased its position in 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 valued at $958,538,000 after acquiring an additional 7,994,004 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Delta Air Lines

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.

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.