UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS raised its price target on Delta from $83 to $84 and reiterated a buy rating, implying roughly a 27.97% upside from the prior close.
• Shares traded up to $65.64 (about +3.5%); Delta has a $42.87B market cap and a P/E of 8.56, and it set Q1 2026 guidance of $0.50–0.90 EPS and FY2026 guidance of $6.50–$7.50 EPS (consensus forecast ~7.63 EPS).
• Company insiders sold heavily this quarter—CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 173,230 shares and insiders sold 620,550 shares worth ~$44.13M overall—while institutional investors hold about 69.93% of the stock.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by analysts at UBS Group from $83.00 to $84.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the transportation company's stock. UBS Group's price target indicates a potential upside of 27.97% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Delta Air Lines from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.80.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE DAL traded up $2.20 during trading on Monday, reaching $65.64. The company had a trading volume of 7,074,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,638,083. Delta Air Lines has a 12-month low of $34.74 and a 12-month high of $76.39. The stock has a market cap of $42.87 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.34. The business's 50-day moving average is $67.14 and its 200 day moving average is $64.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $14.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. Delta Air Lines's quarterly revenue 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, equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 173,230 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $12,299,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 632,823 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,930,433. The trade was a 21.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 62,528 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,469,499.02. This represents a 74.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 620,550 shares of company stock worth $44,127,667. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,211,101 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,680,249,000 after buying an additional 1,012,265 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,163,644 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,607,557,000 after purchasing an additional 165,729 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,413,841 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,215,766,000 after purchasing an additional 202,865 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 137.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,811,787 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $958,538,000 after buying an additional 7,994,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,310,804 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $854,370,000 after buying an additional 56,455 shares during the last quarter. 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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