Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock Price Up 9.8% – Here’s What Happened

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s stock price shot up 9.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $74.11 and last traded at $74.4090. 6,153,636 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 10,338,213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.76.

Key Headlines Impacting Delta Air Lines

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

• Positive Sentiment: Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a new multi-billion-dollar stake in Delta, a major vote of confidence that is fueling momentum buying and encouraging investors to revalue the airline. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire opens a $2.6B stake in world’s largest airline
• Positive Sentiment: Falling oil prices are helping airline shares broadly, since lower fuel costs can improve margins for Delta and its peers. Airline Stocks Rise As Oil Prices Drop: Here’s What You Should Know
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains constructive, with Bernstein and other firms recently raising price targets, reinforcing the view that Delta’s earnings power and premium-focused strategy still look attractive. Bernstein Raised PT on Delta Air Lines (DAL), Here’s Why
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles also highlight Delta’s focus on global expansion, premium cabins, and loyalty revenue, but these are longer-term strategic themes rather than immediate trading catalysts. Berkshire’s New Delta Stake Highlights Premium And Loyalty Focus Risks
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta’s CEO also defended the choice of Amazon Leo over Starlink for in-flight internet, which is more of a business decision update than a near-term earnings driver. Delta’s CEO defends the carrier picking Amazon Leo over Starlink for internet access

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DAL has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.76.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $48.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.89.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 6.87%.The company had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be given a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 10.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP John E. Laughter sold 15,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total value of $1,074,150.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 54,369 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,364.09. The trade was a 21.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 20,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.75, for a total value of $1,500,177.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 120,025 shares in the company, valued at $8,731,818.75. This represents a 14.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 204,925 shares of company stock worth $14,323,395 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DAL. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 90.6% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the period. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% in the 3rd quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other 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.