Islay Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Islay Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 57.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,902 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 12,005 shares during the period. Islay Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 1st quarter worth about $178,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $555,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 399,518 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $19,648,000 after buying an additional 33,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 5.1% during the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 24,778 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,219,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of DAL opened at $61.38 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.74 and a 12-month high of $76.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $14.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.80 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 20.96%. Delta Air Lines’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be given a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, December 19th. Seaport Research Partners increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $73.70 to $80.20 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-three have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $80.38.

Delta Air Lines News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and value narrative — multiple brokers still rate DAL a buy and value-minded commentators point to a low P/E and attractive upside relative to historical targets, which can limit downside and support longer-term buyers. Zacks: Strong Value Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings date — Delta reports results on April 8; that scheduled report gives investors a formal update on margins and guidance, which could re-price the stock but is not an immediate surprise. Benzinga: Earnings note
• Neutral Sentiment: Small analyst target tweak — Rothschild trimmed its price target from $72 to $70 but kept a buy rating; a modest revision rather than a broad downgrade. Benzinga: PT cut
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical disruption and suspended Tel Aviv service — Delta suspended New York–Tel Aviv flights and faces regional airspace disruptions that reduce revenue on exposed routes and complicate operations. Yahoo: Suspension of Tel Aviv flights
• Negative Sentiment: Rising oil and jet-fuel risk — crude prices have climbed amid the Middle East conflict, pressuring jet-fuel costs and compressing near-term airline margins; the sector-wide move lower reflects those input-cost concerns. QuiverQuant: Oil-driven sell-off
• Negative Sentiment: Wider airline disruption — tens of thousands of canceled flights and ongoing hub shutdowns (Cirium/Tourism Economics coverage) increase revenue and cargo risk across carriers. Yahoo: Flight cancellations
• Negative Sentiment: Major executive reshuffle — Delta announced a sweeping leadership change (CFO Dan Janki to COO/overseeing customer care; Erik Snell to CFO; Peter Carter to president). Markets often punish executive turnover because it raises short-term execution risk and creates uncertainty about strategy continuity. MSN: Executive reshuffle

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 38,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total transaction of $2,896,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 104,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,835,520.20. This represents a 26.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 173,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 620,550 shares of company stock worth $44,127,667. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines 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.