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

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

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Argus set a $80.00 price objective on Delta Air Lines in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. HSBC increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $73.70 to $80.20 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.76.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $63.77 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $41.65 billion, a PE ratio of 8.31, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.44 and its 200 day moving average is $64.12. Delta Air Lines has a 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $76.39.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $14.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.80 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.96% and a net margin of 7.90%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. 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 anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 38,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total value of $2,896,930.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 104,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,835,520.20. This represents a 26.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total transaction of $2,491,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 95,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,625,542.51. The trade was a 27.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 620,550 shares of company stock valued at $44,127,667 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Delta Air Lines by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 358,870 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $20,366,000 after purchasing an additional 25,507 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 10.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 87,344 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $4,957,000 after buying an additional 8,309 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 41.3% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 53,601 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,042,000 after buying an additional 15,661 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the third quarter worth approximately $1,201,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 14.0% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 457,796 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,980,000 after buying an additional 56,365 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Delta Air Lines

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

• Positive Sentiment: Delta raised its Q1 revenue outlook and cited accelerating demand from both corporate and leisure customers, which supported an intraday rally and helped lift sector peers. Delta Lifts Revenue Guidance (WSJ)
• Positive Sentiment: Management reiterated capacity flexibility and said demand remains strong despite higher fuel costs — a message investors read as evidence Delta can protect near-term profitability. CNBC: Delta maintains guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reaffirmed a Buy rating on DAL, adding support from the analyst community and helping investor confidence after the guidance update. Barclays Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary highlighted Delta’s improved relative strength and technical momentum after the guidance-driven bounce, which can attract momentum-focused traders even as macro risks remain. MSN: Rising Relative Strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro pieces note markets trying to look through $100 oil and that investors are parsing Fed signals alongside geopolitical risk — context that can amplify swings in airlines but not necessarily change fundamentals immediately. Yahoo: Markets & $100 oil
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its price target for DAL to $75, signaling some analyst-level downside to valuation assumptions as fuel-cost estimates rise. Wells Fargo lowers PT
• Negative Sentiment: UBS also lowered its price target to $83, reflecting renewed caution on how higher jet-fuel will affect margins — these trims can cap near-term upside. UBS lowers PT
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing Middle East strikes and rising jet-fuel prices are increasing costs industry-wide (Delta has cited a multi-hundred-million-dollar hit), a headwind that offsets some of the positive demand news and pressures margins if sustained. Yahoo: Jet fuel & airfares rising

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.