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

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 86,564 call options on the company. This is an increase of 50% compared to the average daily volume of 57,809 call options.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Rahul D. Samant sold 38,023 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $2,467,312.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,789 shares in the company, valued at $3,425,478.21. The trade was a 41.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DAL. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $301,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Delta Air Lines by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 9,111 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 21,959 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 742,773 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $37,725,000 after purchasing an additional 19,124 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 829.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 604 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $80.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group cut shares of Delta Air Lines from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $77.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $56.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $46.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.06.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

DAL stock traded up $2.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $47.58. The company had a trading volume of 5,017,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,265,429. The company has a market capitalization of $31.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $44.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Delta Air Lines has a 12-month low of $34.74 and a 12-month high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The transportation company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $12.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.85 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.64%.

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.