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

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 15,936,395 shares, a decline of 19.8% from the January 15th total of 19,874,723 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,592,551 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,592,551 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 38,600 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total value of $2,896,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 104,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,835,520.20. The trade was a 26.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 62,528 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 20,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,469,499.02. The trade was a 74.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 520,550 shares of company stock valued at $37,101,667. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $471,532,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 54.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,817,783 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $330,159,000 after buying an additional 2,058,744 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,155,776 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $426,441,000 after buying an additional 1,890,521 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position 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 worth $659,043,000 after buying an additional 1,834,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,572,577 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,667,479,000 after buying an additional 1,648,071 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE DAL traded up $1.78 on Tuesday, reaching $70.78. The company had a trading volume of 6,934,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,931,543. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.37. Delta Air Lines has a 1 year low of $34.74 and a 1 year high of $76.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.12 and a 200-day moving average of $63.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $14.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 1.1%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is currently 9.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DAL shares. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Argus set a $80.00 price objective on Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wolfe Research increased 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-two have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $80.47.

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.