Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) saw a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 15,936,395 shares, a drop of 19.8% from the January 15th total of 19,874,723 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,592,551 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 7,592,551 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DAL shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $87.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Delta Air Lines from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.47.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 38,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Erik Storey Snell sold 39,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total transaction of $2,799,608.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,530,087.50. The trade was a 52.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 520,550 shares of company stock valued at $37,101,667 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DAL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter valued at about $178,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth approximately $555,000. MGO One Seven LLC grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 75.4% during the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 12,920 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 5,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 11.6% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 21,028 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DAL traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $68.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,377,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,931,543. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.04 billion, a PE ratio of 8.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.37. Delta Air Lines has a 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $76.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.14.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.85 EPS. Delta Air Lines’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be paid a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

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.