Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Buys 362,329 Shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 66.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 911,136 shares of the transportation company’s stock after purchasing an additional 362,329 shares during the period. Delta Air Lines accounts for about 1.2% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Delta Air Lines worth $51,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Delta Air Lines by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter valued at $178,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 2nd quarter valued at $555,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 26.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,028 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter worth $76,000. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DAL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.93.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL stock opened at $60.62 on Tuesday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $76.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $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) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.02. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 20.96%. The firm had revenue of $14.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. The business’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. Analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be paid a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.78%.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.21, for a total transaction of $2,491,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 95,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,625,542.51. The trade was a 27.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 38,600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 104,404 shares in the company, valued at $7,835,520.20. The trade was a 26.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 620,550 shares of company stock worth $44,127,667. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.