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

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 74,406 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 64% compared to the average volume of 45,462 call options.

Delta Air Lines Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE DAL traded up $1.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $60.11. The stock had a trading volume of 5,132,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,598,117. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $38.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.35, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. Delta Air Lines has a fifty-two week low of $36.34 and a fifty-two week high of $67.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $61.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.44.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 7.71% and a return on equity of 29.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 6.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total value of $173,128.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,499,635.40. The trade was a 3.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 68,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.33, for a total transaction of $3,830,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,775,004.27. This represents a 13.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,240 shares of company stock valued at $8,044,893 over the last quarter. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Delta Air Lines by 2.9% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 6,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 13.8% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,645 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,357 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Delta Air Lines by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,198 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $50.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.83.

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.