TD Cowen Downgrades Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) to Hold

Key Points

• TD Cowen downgraded Delta Air Lines from "strong-buy" to "hold" and cut its price target to $71, citing higher jet-fuel and oil volatility that increases operating-cost risk.
• Despite the downgrade and sector headwinds, the analyst consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $79.93 (21 Buys, 2 Holds, 1 Strong Buy among covers).
• Financials and insider activity: Delta slightly beat EPS ($1.55 vs $1.53) but missed revenue ($14.61B vs $15.80B), issued FY2026 guidance of $6.50–7.50 EPS (Q1 0.50–0.90), and insiders sold about 620,550 shares (~$44.1M) in the last 90 days.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at TD Cowen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

DAL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $73.70 to $80.20 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised Delta Air Lines to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.93.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of Delta Air Lines stock opened at $59.17 on Tuesday. Delta Air Lines has a 12 month low of $34.74 and a 12 month high of $76.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $38.65 billion, a PE ratio of 7.71, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.34. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $68.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.16.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.02. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.96% and a net margin of 7.90%.The company had revenue of $14.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. The company'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. On average, research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 62,528 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.18, for a total value of $4,388,215.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,939 shares in the company, valued at $1,469,499.02. The trade was a 74.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter W. Carter sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.82, for a total transaction of $2,020,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 421,744 shares in the company, valued at $31,554,886.08. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 620,550 shares of company stock worth $44,127,667. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DAL. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Delta Air Lines by 90.6% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% during the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the period. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. SWAN Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,016.0% in the third quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 558 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Camelot Portfolios LLC acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 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 will present at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference on March 17 — an opportunity for management to discuss outlook, guidance and cost/hedging actions directly with institutional investors, which can soothe short-term uncertainty. Delta to Present at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent analyst-coverage pieces and forecast dossiers summarize expectations for DAL but do not show sweeping consensus changes; these reports provide context but are not the primary driver of today’s move. Analyst Expectations For Delta Air Lines's Future
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical escalation in the Middle East has pushed jet-fuel and oil volatility sharply higher, increasing operating-cost risk for all carriers and prompting sector-wide selling. MarketBeat’s analysis highlights higher jet fuel prices and demand uncertainty as central negative drivers for airline stocks, including DAL. Is the Airline Stock Dip After the Iran Attacks Justified?
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen cut its price target on DAL (from $82 to $71), citing fuel-cost concerns — the firm kept a Buy rating, but the reduced target signals lower near-term upside expectations and likely fed some selling. TD Cowen Adjusts Price Target on Delta Air Lines
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst cuts and heightened options activity across the airline sector (exemplified by American Airlines reactions) have increased market nervousness and led to broader downward pressure on major carriers, including Delta. Stock Market Today: American Airlines Falls After Analysts Cut Price Targets
• Negative Sentiment: Market reports noting that DAL “registered a bigger fall than the market” capture the outcome of today’s selling (higher volume and a notable intraday decline), reinforcing that the combination of macro/geopolitical risk and analyst moves is weighing on the stock. Delta Air Lines (DAL) Registers a Bigger Fall Than the Market

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.

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