Delta Air Lines Cheers Investors With Dividend Payout

In a shareholder-friendly move, Delta Air Lines (DAL – Free Report) announced a hike in its dividend payout. DAL’s board of directors approved a dividend hike of 50%, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend to 15 cents from 10 cents per share. depositphotos The raised dividend will be paid out on Aug 20, 2024, to all its shareholders of record as of Jul 30. The move reflects DAL’s intention to utilize free cash to enhance its shareholders’ returns.    Delta Air Lines, Inc. Dividend Yield (TTM) 
 DAL has been consistently making efforts to reward its shareholders, which is encouraging. This marks DAL’s first dividend increase after the company renewed its dividend policy in June 2023 with a dividend payment of 10 cents per share.Notably, DAL had to suspend its dividend payout during the COVID-19 pandemic. The restrictions, under the CARES Act, prohibited airline companies from paying dividends or buying back shares till Sep 30, 2022.Dividend-paying stocks provide a solid income stream and have fewer chances of experiencing wild price swings. Dividend stocks, like DAL, are safe bets for creating wealth, as the payouts generally act as a hedge against economic uncertainty like the current scenario. DAL’s management’s decision to increase its quarterly dividend payout reflects the company’s commitment to boosting shareholder value apart from underlining confidence in its business. We believe such shareholder-friendly initiatives should boost investor confidence and positively impact this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s bottom line. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Notably, shares of DAL have gained 23.3% so far this year compared with 13.2% growth of the industry and the 14.9% rise of the Zacks S&P 500 Composite. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Delta is not the only player from the Zacks Transportation sector that has rewarded its shareholders with dividend payouts or share buyback programs. To name a few, on Jun 10, 2024, FedEx Corporation’s (FDX – Free Report) board of directors approved a dividend hike of 10%, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend from $1.26 ($5.04 annualized) per share to $1.38 ($5.52 annualized).The raised dividend will be paid out on Jul 9, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Jun 24, 2023.In January 2024, GATX Corporation’s (GATX – Free Report) board of directors announced a dividend hike of almost 5.5%, raising its quarterly cash dividend from 55 cents per share to 58 cents. Notably, 2024 marks the 106th consecutive year of GATX paying out dividends.Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, operating as Wabtec Corporation (WAB – Free Report) , (on Feb 14, 2024) announced a 17.6% dividend increase, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend from 17 cents per share to 20 cents. Additionally, WAB’s board announced a $1 billion share buyback authorization.More By This Author:Are Microcaps A Good Proxy For Private Equity? 4 Airline Stocks To Invest Now As Air Travel Demand SurgesWhy Apple Dipped More Than Broader Market Friday