Insider Selling: Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Insider Sells 27,000 Shares of Stock

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) insider Peter Carter sold 27,000 shares of Delta Air Lines 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 sale, the insider directly owned 421,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,554,886.08. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE DAL traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $74.49. 6,419,620 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,438,701. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $48.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.37. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.74 and a 12-month high of $75.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $69.68 and a 200 day moving average of $62.57.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $14.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.80 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 20.99% and a net margin of 7.90%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,572,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $3,667,479,000 after buying an additional 1,648,071 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,059,848 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,134,083,000 after acquiring an additional 581,421 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,413,841 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $1,215,766,000 after acquiring an additional 202,865 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 9,496,296 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $659,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth about $471,532,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus set a $80.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.47.

Trending Headlines about Delta Air Lines

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

• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat highlights Delta as a top travel play for 2026 — citing a Q4 EPS beat, a record ~$4.6B free cash balance and management’s guidance implying ~20% EPS growth driven by premium/corporate travel tailwinds. 3 Stocks to Play the Summer Travel Boom as Demand Surges Again
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell ~19.8% in late January (to ~15.9M shares), reducing a near‑term bearish crowd and lowering short‑squeeze risk; that technical change is supportive of the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Competitor weakness: unions publicly criticizing American Airlines for lagging performance reinforces Delta’s relative operating strength and competitive positioning. Pilots and Flight Attendants Criticize American Airlines’ Performance
• Positive Sentiment: Broker consensus remains upbeat — a recent roundup shows brokerages with a consensus “Buy” view on DAL, supporting longer‑term investor conviction. Delta Air Lines, Inc. Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage asking whether DAL is a buy (Yahoo Finance piece) reflects debate between strong fundamentals and recent run‑up; useful reading but not a decisive catalyst by itself. Is It Time To Consider Buying Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)?
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: multiple senior executives (including EVPs Alain Bellemare, Steven Sear and Peter Carter) sold large blocks in early February (~100k+ shares across filings), totaling several million dollars — a near‑term negative that can prompt profit‑taking after the stock’s run. SEC filings and coverage available. SEC Filing (Alain Bellemare) Insider Selling: DAL EVP Sells

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.