Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

Key Points

• Unusually high call-option activity: Investors purchased 66,798 Delta Air Lines call options, roughly 101% above the average daily volume of 33,207 contracts.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: Twenty-two analysts rate the stock Buy, compared with one Hold and one Sell, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $99.65.
• Shares rose while earnings slightly missed estimates: Delta stock gained 2.6% to $78.81, even as quarterly EPS of $1.72 fell short of the $1.77 consensus and revenue came in at $17.59 billion versus $17.64 billion expected.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 66,798 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 101% compared to the average daily volume of 33,207 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus set a $95.00 target price on Delta Air Lines in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Delta Air Lines in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $101.00 price target on Delta Air Lines in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.65.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE:DAL traded up $2.03 on Monday, reaching $78.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,550,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,514,996. Delta Air Lines has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $95.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $51.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $80.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.72.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 9th. The transportation company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.77 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $17.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.64 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 16.83%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. Delta Air Lines has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.150-1.650 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.100-5.600 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Delta Air Lines will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.2150 per share. This represents a $0.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 15th. Delta Air Lines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Edward Bastian sold 206,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.80, for a total value of $19,164,128.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,363,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $126,527,974.40. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.72, for a total value of $3,245,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 95,025 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,718. This represents a 26.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 356,726 shares of company stock worth $33,081,037 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Delta Air Lines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,182,646,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 50.9% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,033,595 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $268,153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360,195 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth $160,265,000. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 15.0% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,469,652 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $97,702,000 after buying an additional 191,345 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 28.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,339,423 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $89,045,000 after buying an additional 300,288 shares during the period. 69.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines, Inc is a major U.S. airline headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The company provides scheduled passenger air transportation to destinations across the United States and international markets, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, Canada, Africa and the Caribbean. Delta operates through a network of hubs and focus cities, offering service under the Delta brand and through regional partners operating as Delta Connection.

In addition to passenger flights, Delta provides air cargo transportation and related logistics services.

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