Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL)

Key Points

• Delta Air Lines experienced a significant surge in trading activity, with investors purchasing 80,015 call options, representing a 35% increase over the average daily volume.
• The airline reported quarterly earnings of $2.10 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations, although revenue declined 0.1% year-over-year.
• Delta has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.1875 per share, reflecting the company's strong financial position and a payout ratio of 10.87%.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 80,015 call options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately35% compared to the average daily volume of 59,086 call options.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 0.5%

Delta Air Lines stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $58.75. The stock had a trading volume of 4,041,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,836,023. The stock has a market cap of $38.36 billion, a PE ratio of 8.50, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.56. Delta Air Lines has a 52 week low of $34.74 and a 52 week high of $69.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.33.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The transportation company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $15,507,000 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.16 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.24% and a return on equity of 24.86%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.36 EPS. Analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.1875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Delta Air Lines's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $56.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Delta Air Lines has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.21.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Steven M. Sear sold 18,000 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.96, for a total value of $1,007,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 97,505 shares in the company, valued at $5,456,379.80. The trade was a 15.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 45,423 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.56, for a total transaction of $2,523,701.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 131,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,318,974.36. This trade represents a 25.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 133,973 shares of company stock worth $7,511,746. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 87.7% during the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 86,925 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,275,000 after buying an additional 40,611 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 4.4% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 890,347 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $43,787,000 after purchasing an additional 37,158 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 223.5% during the second quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 300,515 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $15,990,000 after purchasing an additional 207,624 shares in the last quarter. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 95.5% during the second quarter. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. now owns 52,600 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $2,587,000 after purchasing an additional 25,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Black Cypress Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 115.2% during the second quarter. Black Cypress Capital Management LLC now owns 88,053 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $4,330,000 after purchasing an additional 47,129 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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