Delta Air Lines Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:DAL)

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 102,369 call options on the company. This is an increase of 74% compared to the typical daily volume of 58,672 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $58.29.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, Director Willie Cw Chiang purchased 10,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $49.50 per share, for a total transaction of $495,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,000. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.05, for a total transaction of $4,905,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 217,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,672,495.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Willie Cw Chiang bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $49.50 per share, for a total transaction of $495,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 174,073 shares of company stock valued at $8,581,207. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 495.7% during the 3rd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 396.6% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 720 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 26,166.7% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 788 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 122.5% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 821 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

DAL stock opened at $51.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $33.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Delta Air Lines has a 1 year low of $30.60 and a 1 year high of $51.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $45.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.60.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The business had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Delta Air Lines’s payout ratio is presently 5.14%.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

Delta Air Lines, Inc provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Salt Lake City, as well as coastal hub positions in Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, and Seattle; and international network centered on hubs and market presence in Amsterdam, Bogota, Lima, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Sao Paulo, Seoul-Incheon, and Tokyo.