Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 18,350 shares of the transportation company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 90.6% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 444 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 1,983.3% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the period. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the second quarter valued at $35,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 779 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $57.86 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.74 and a 12-month high of $76.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $37.79 billion, a PE ratio of 7.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $68.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.08.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 13th. The transportation company reported $1.55 earnings per share 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 net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 20.96%. Delta Air Lines’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. 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 analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 26th will be issued a $0.1875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 26th. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $84.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Evercore lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Dbs Bank upgraded Delta Air Lines to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Argus set a $80.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.43.

Key Delta Air Lines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi Research put Delta on a 30-day “positive catalyst” watch, which suggests potential near-term upside if catalysts materialize. Citi positive catalyst watch
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive in places: Citi’s John Godyn reiterated a Buy on Delta citing resilient earnings, refinery exposure and trans‑Atlantic pricing upside — supportive evidence for medium-term earnings upside. TipRanks article
• Positive Sentiment: Some bulls still see large upside — coverage highlights a Wall Street call that models roughly 50% upside this year versus current levels, keeping a possible recovery scenario on the table. 24/7 Wall St piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Delta will present at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference on March 17 — a near-term event that could provide fresh guidance detail or reassure investors. J.P. Morgan presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage examining whether Delta is now attractively valued notes recent weakness but also longer‑term gains; this frames the stock as a value/turnaround debate. Valuation analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts point out Delta has underperformed broader indices recently even as consensus targets remain well above the current price, creating scope for both downside and rebound. Barchart analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies cut its price target to $72 from $84 (still a Buy) — a meaningful reduction in upside expectations that likely dampened investor sentiment. Jefferies PT cut
• Negative Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn trimmed its target to $70 from $72 while keeping a Buy — another downward tweak to street targets. Rothschild target cut
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen downgraded Delta from “strong-buy” to “hold,” reducing conviction among buy‑side investors and potentially lowering demand for shares. TD Cowen downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market weakness — a large index selloff tied to an oil price surge — is pressuring cyclical airline stocks today and likely amplified Delta’s decline. Market selloff coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical/airspace risk: Middle East disruptions and flight cancellations in the region remain a downside operational risk for airlines. Middle East flight cancellations

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 directly owned 20,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,469,499.02. The trade was a 74.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 35,212 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.20, for a total value of $2,647,942.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 138,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,390,835.20. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 620,550 shares of company stock worth $44,127,667. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

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.