Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Delta Air Lines Call Options (NYSE:DAL)

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 63,584 call options on the company. This is an increase of 37% compared to the typical daily volume of 46,392 call options.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL traded down $1.48 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $43.83. 16,135,954 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,706,622. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.90. Delta Air Lines has a 52-week low of $37.29 and a 52-week high of $69.98. The company has a market capitalization of $28.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 30.41%. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. Delta Air Lines's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DAL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total value of $6,405,943.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This represents a 17.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 6,783 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.94, for a total transaction of $447,271.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,016 shares of the company's stock, valued at $660,455.04. This represents a 40.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock valued at $11,116,463 over the last ninety days. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 474 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.93% of the company's stock.

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.