Delta Boosts Dividend, Unveils Buyback

Delta Air Lines Inc. on Wednesday unveiled plans to boost its dividend by 50% and buy back $5 billion in shares over the next two and a half years.

Shares rose 2.7% in premarket trading.

Delta said it will raise its quarterly dividend to $0.135 a share starting in the September quarter. The increase will bring its yield up to 1.2%. In comparison, American Airlines Group Inc. has a yield of 0.82%, while Southwest Airlines Co. has a yield of 0.57%.

Meanwhile, the company said it will complete a $5 billion share-buyback program by December 2017. The company is on track to complete the remaining $725 million of its $2 billion buyback program by the end of June, a year and a half ahead of schedule.

Delta unveiled its shareholder-return strategy three years ago. The program, which included stock buybacks and dividends, was seen as a rarity among U.S. carriers still nursing years of accumulated losses. The initial plans were for $500 million in stock repurchases to be completed by June 2016 and a six-cent quarterly dividend.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at [e-mail]

Access Investor Kit for Southwest Airlines Co.

Visit http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US8447411088

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires