Delta sees 'opportunistic' time to speed up $1.3 billion in stock repurchases

Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. surged 2.2% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the air carrier said is taking out a $1 billion short-term loan to accelerate "opportunistic" stock repurchases in the current quarter. Delta affirmed its plan to return $2.5 billion to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends in 2019, with $1.3 billion in repurchases in the current quarter. Delta's stock has lost 2.2% year to date, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has climbed 11.0% and the S&P 500 has climbed 11.4%. Delta plans to repay the short-term loan for repurchases by the end of the year. Separately, Delta said it is "on track" to meet its first-quarter earnings guidance, although fuel prices are trending higher than its previous forecast. The company affirmed its 2019 EPS outlook of $6 to $7, which surrounds the FactSet consensus of $6.56.

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