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

Key Points

• Delta Air Lines shares jumped 9.8% after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a new multi-billion-dollar stake in the airline, which investors viewed as a strong endorsement and a catalyst for momentum buying.
• Lower oil prices are also helping airline stocks, since cheaper fuel can improve margins for Delta and its peers.
• Analysts remain constructive on Delta, with several firms raising price targets; the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of about $79.76.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 9.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $74.11 and last traded at $74.4090. Approximately 6,153,636 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 10,338,213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.76.

Key Stories 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 a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.76.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 9.4%

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

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $14.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.1875 per share. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Delta Air Lines's payout ratio is 10.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 100,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.26, for a total transaction of $7,026,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,363,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $95,795,856.48. The trade was a 6.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John E. Laughter sold 15,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.61, for a total transaction of $1,074,150.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 54,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,893,364.09. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 204,925 shares of company stock valued at $14,323,395. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DAL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $555,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter valued at $178,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at $555,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 102.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,825 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 357,825 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 58,129 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,859,000 after acquiring an additional 5,564 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

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.

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