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

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 74,406 call options on the company. This is an increase of 64% compared to the typical volume of 45,462 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DAL. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Delta Air Lines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $77.06.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 1.8 %

DAL opened at $61.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.45 billion, a PE ratio of 8.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Delta Air Lines has a fifty-two week low of $36.34 and a fifty-two week high of $67.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.95 and a 200-day moving average of $51.59.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The business had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In related news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,990 shares in the company, valued at $5,499,635.40. The trade was a 3.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 21,530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $1,305,148.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,197,608.72. The trade was a 52.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,240 shares of company stock valued at $8,044,893. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.