Raymond James Financial Has Lowered Expectations for Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock Price

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Raymond James Financial from $80.00 to $76.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “strong-buy” rating on the transportation company’s stock. Raymond James Financial’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.82% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on DAL. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of 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 raised shares of Delta Air Lines to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.80.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 2.2%

NYSE:DAL traded up $1.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $67.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,470,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,018,768. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.42. 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 company has a market capitalization of $44.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.34. Delta Air Lines has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $76.39.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $14.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.80 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.96% and a net margin of 7.90%.The business’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Equities analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 38,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 104,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,835,520.20. This trade represents a 26.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 62,528 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,939 shares in the company, valued at $1,469,499.02. This trade represents a 74.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 620,550 shares of company stock worth $44,127,667 over the last ninety days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 90.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% during the third quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Delta Air Lines

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

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.