Delta Air Lines Cheers Investors With 25% Hike in Quarterly Dividend

In a shareholder-friendly move, Delta Air Lines, Inc.’s DAL board of directors approved a dividend hike of 25%, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend to 18.75 per share (75 cents annualized) from 15 cents (60 cents annualized). The raised dividend will be paid on Aug. 21, 2025, to stockholders of record at the close of business on July 31, 2025. The move reflects DAL’s intention to utilize free cash to enhance its shareholders’ returns. Delta Air Lines, Inc. Dividend Yield (TTM) Delta Air Lines, Inc. dividend-yield-ttm | Delta Air Lines, Inc. QuoteDAL has been consistently making efforts to reward its shareholders, which is encouraging. We would like to remind investors that this move marks DAL’s second dividend increase after the company renewed its dividend policy in June 2023 with a dividend payment of 10 cents per share. The first dividendincrease (post-dividend renewal) was announced in June 2024.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 Sept. 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 thisZacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s bottom line. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Dividend Hike Announced by Other Transportation Companies in 2025Delta Air Lines is not the only player from theZacks Transportation sector that has rewarded its shareholders with dividend payouts or share buyback programs.To name a few, on June 9, 2025, FedEx Corporation’s (FDX) board of directorsapproved a dividend hike of 5.1%, thereby raising its quarterly cash dividend to $1.45 per share ($5.80 annualized) from $1.38 ($5.52 annualized). The raised dividend will be paid on July 8, 2025, to stockholders of record at the close of business on June 23, 2025.Notably, FedEx has been consistently making efforts to reward its shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, which are encouraging. During the first nine months of fiscal 2025, FedEx paid dividends worth $1.01 billion and repurchased shares worth $2.52 billion.Landstar System, Inc. (LSTR), concurrent with its first-quarter 2025 earnings release on May 13, 2025, announced a dividend hike of 11%, thereby raising the quarterly cash dividend to 40 cents per share from 36 cents per share. The raised dividend will be paid on June 24, 2025, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 5, 2025.During the first quarter of 2025, Landstar purchased almost 386,000 shares for $60.9 million and paid $83.3 million to shareholders in the form of cash dividends. LSTR is currently authorized to purchase up to an additional 2,161,663 shares under its longstanding share purchase program.  On May 6, 2025,Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.’s EXPD board of directors approved a dividend hike of 5.5%, raising its quarterly semi-annual cash dividend from 73 cents per share to 77 cents. The raised dividend will be paid on June 16, 2025, to all its shareholders of record as of June 2. The move reflects EXPD’s intention to utilize free cash to enhance its shareholders’ returns.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL): Free Stock Analysis Report Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (EXPD): Free Stock Analysis Report FedEx Corporation (FDX): Free Stock Analysis Report Landstar System, Inc. (LSTR): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks