Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Price Target Raised to $78.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) had its target price upped by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $72.00 to $78.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 14.76% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. HSBC boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $73.70 to $80.20 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Dbs Bank upgraded Delta Air Lines to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Two equities research 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.80.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 2.2%

DAL traded up $1.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.97. 3,470,333 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,018,768. Delta Air Lines has a 1 year low of $34.74 and a 1 year high of $76.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.39 billion, a PE ratio of 8.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.42.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.02. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 20.96%. The business had revenue of $14.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 38,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 26.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 35,212 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.20, for a total value of $2,647,942.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 138,176 shares in the company, valued at $10,390,835.20. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 620,550 shares of company stock valued at $44,127,667. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter valued at approximately $178,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter valued at approximately $555,000. Level Four Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $229,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Delta signed a large agreement to install Amazon’s Leo satellite broadband on hundreds of aircraft (initial install of ~500 planes beginning in 2028), giving Delta a new supplier for faster in‑flight connectivity and a competitive passenger experience that can drive revenue per passenger and retention. Delta Air Lines taps Amazon Leo for in-flight Wi-Fi — CNBC
• Positive Sentiment: The deal signals Delta picked Amazon’s service over SpaceX’s Starlink for this program, a strategic vendor choice that could offer better commercial terms or differentiated capability for Delta and reduce reliance on a single provider. Delta picks Bezos over Musk for satellite Wi-Fi — MSN
• Positive Sentiment: Delta’s SkyMiles loyalty program was ranked the world’s most valuable airline loyalty program (~$31 billion), reinforcing a high‑value, monetizable asset that supports pricing power and ancillary revenue opportunities. SkyMiles Ranked Most Valuable — Yahoo Finance
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts show an average “Moderate Buy” on DAL, reflecting bullish consensus on earnings recovery and cash generation but not unanimous upside. This supports price momentum but is not a guarantee of large near‑term moves. Analyst Recommendations — AmericanBankingNews
• Negative Sentiment: Operational risk: CEO Ed Bastian publicly warned of airport chaos tied to Congressional gridlock over DHS funding — a U.S. government funding impasse could disrupt operations and increase costs, a downside risk for revenue and margins. CEO Comments on Congress — YouTube

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.