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

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

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Shares of DAL opened at $51.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.38. Delta Air Lines has a fifty-two week low of $30.60 and a fifty-two week high of $51.65. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.60. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $13.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.51 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 41.89% and a net margin of 8.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on DAL. Susquehanna lifted 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $58.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Willie Cw Chiang acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Peter W. Carter sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were 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 owns 143,328 shares in the company, valued at $7,166,400. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Willie Cw Chiang acquired 10,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average price 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 approximately $495,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 174,073 shares of company stock worth $8,581,207 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 495.7% in the 3rd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 685 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in Delta Air Lines by 26,166.7% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 788 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 69.93% of the stock is 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.