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

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 74,406 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 64% compared to the typical volume of 45,462 call options.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other news, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 7,510 shares of Delta Air Lines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.62, for a total transaction of $470,276.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,688,130.14. This trade represents a 11.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joanne D. Smith sold 3,431 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.46, for a total transaction of $173,128.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 108,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,499,635.40. The trade was a 3.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 140,240 shares of company stock valued at $8,044,893. 0.96% 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 bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 6,679 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 13.8% during 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 during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 16.9% during the third quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,412 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.0% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. 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. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.83.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:DAL opened at $59.84 on Tuesday. Delta Air Lines has a 1 year low of $36.34 and a 1 year high of $67.50. The company has a market capitalization of $38.61 billion, a PE ratio of 8.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $61.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.02). Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The company had revenue of $15.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

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.