Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Lowered to “Strong Sell” Rating by Zacks Research

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

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. 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 dropped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $87.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.76.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 1.6%

Delta Air Lines stock opened at $63.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.65 billion, a PE ratio of 8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $67.44 and its 200-day moving average is $64.12. Delta Air Lines has a fifty-two week low of $34.74 and a fifty-two week high of $76.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

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

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be given a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is presently 9.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 62,528 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.18, for a total transaction of $4,388,215.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,469,499.02. This trade represents a 74.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 38,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $7,835,520.20. This represents a 26.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 620,550 shares of company stock valued at $44,127,667 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 90.6% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines News Summary

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.