Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL)

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 63,123 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 29% compared to the average volume of 49,048 call options.

Insider Activity

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.85, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.02, for a total transaction of $554,568.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,304,291.12. The trade was a 29.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 414.4% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 535 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DAL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded Delta Air Lines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup lowered 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $76.29.

Delta Air Lines Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DAL traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $43.62. 18,048,931 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,082,005. 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 one year low of $37.29 and a one year high of $69.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.39. The company has a market cap of $28.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $15.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.26%.

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.