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

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 178,849 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 267% compared to the typical volume of 48,779 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP William C. Carroll sold 8,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,304,291.12. The trade was a 29.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 91,710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 439,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,721,357.15. This trade represents a 17.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 162,886 shares of company stock worth $11,116,463. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $281,206,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Delta Air Lines in the fourth quarter valued at about $328,398,000. Castle Hook Partners LP acquired a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $189,296,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $152,342,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 405.3% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 3,054,285 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $184,784,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449,874 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Delta Air Lines Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of DAL stock traded down $1.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $43.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,134,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,706,613. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.90. Delta Air Lines has a 12-month low of $37.29 and a 12-month high of $69.98.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The transportation company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 30.41% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $15.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Delta Air Lines will post 7.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on DAL. UBS Group lowered their target price on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Delta Air Lines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Delta Air Lines from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays cut their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Delta Air Lines from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.60.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

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.