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The Best Options Trade for Delta Air Lines (DAL) Earnings

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On Thursday, October, 13th, Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) will release its third quarter earnings results after the bell. The company is a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold), and have a Value, Growth, and Momentum score of C.

Dave will look at Delta’s past earnings, take a look at what is currently going on with the company, and give us his thoughts on their upcoming earnings announcement.

Furthermore, Dave will uncover some potential options trades for investors looking to make a play on Delta Air Lines ahead of earnings.

Delta Air Lines in Focus

Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) is America's fastest growing international carrier. Delta Air Lines offers customers service to more destinations than any global airline with Delta and Delta Connection carrier service. Delta has added more international capacity than all other U.S. airlines combined and is the leader across the Atlantic.

Delta Air Lines is expected to report earnings at $1.65 per share according to the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Last quarter they reported an earnings beat at $1.47 per share beating the Zack’s Consensus Estimate of $1.42 per share, and they have an average surprise of 1.69% over the last four quarters.

DELTA AIR LINES Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

DELTA AIR LINES Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | DELTA AIR LINES Quote

Delta Air Lines is trading around $39 a share, and they are well off from their 52-week high of $52.77 per share.

Delta Air Lines is tied to the transportation-airline sector, and their industry is in the bottom 32%. The airline industry has been through a lot of major changes within the late 10-15 years. The biggest change has been many mergers including American Airlines (AAL - Free Report) who merged with TWA, then Continental Airlines merged with United Airlines (UAL - Free Report) , and Delta merged with Northwest Airlines a few years ago. Furthermore, the airlines’ have started to rely on revenue from various fees including baggage to cancellation fees.

The airline industry remains very competitive for Delta. While Delta Air Lines goes against United Airlines and American Airlines in regards to being one of the three largest U.S. carriers, but Delta also faces tough competition against Southwest Airlines (LUV - Free Report) , then JetBlue (JBLU - Free Report) and Virgin America in specific regions of the country. Internationally Delta Airlines faces tough competition against other global leaders such as Lufthansa and British Airlines who aren’t in the Skyteam partnership; however, Delta does benefit being in the same partnership as Air France, KLM, Korean Air, China Airlines, and others which makes it easier for Delta fliers traveling abroad. That aspect can be appealing for international travelers, which can be a benefit for Delta Air Lines.

Bottom Line

How should investors play Delta Air Lines ahead of their earnings report? For insights on the best options trades, make sure to watch Dave Bartosiak at 1:00pm on Tuesday to see if he’ll be bullish, or bearish. If you are interested this stream and service, then sign up for Zacks Live Trader.

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