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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on DAL. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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 report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Delta Air Lines from $59.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.83.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Delta Air Lines during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Delta Air Lines in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Price Performance

Delta Air Lines stock traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $60.11. 5,132,811 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,598,117. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.44. Delta Air Lines has a 52-week low of $36.34 and a 52-week high of $67.50. 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 10th. The transportation company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.52 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $15.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.65 billion. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 7.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research 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.