Delta Air Lines Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:DAL)

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 102,369 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 74% compared to the average daily volume of 58,672 call options.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL stock opened at $51.55 on Friday. Delta Air Lines has a 52-week low of $30.60 and a 52-week high of $51.65. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.72. The company has a market capitalization of $32.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.41.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 11th. The transportation company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $13.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on DAL. UBS Group began coverage on Delta Air Lines in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $59.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.29.

Insider Transactions at Delta Air Lines

In other news, Director Willie Cw Chiang bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $49.50 per share, with a total value of $495,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $495,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 50,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $2,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 143,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,166,400. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie Cw Chiang acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.50 per share, with a total value of $495,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 174,073 shares of company stock worth $8,581,207 over the last ninety days. 0.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,329 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 132.3% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 466,741 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $18,777,000 after purchasing an additional 265,852 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Inc. OK bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,241,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 325.5% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 77,647 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,124,000 after purchasing an additional 59,398 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 4,434,509 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $178,400,000 after purchasing an additional 773,636 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

About Delta Air Lines

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.