Shares of Carnival Corp. CCL, -2.71% rose 0.6% in premarket trade Wednesday, erasing earlier losses, after the cruise operator said it was raising its quarterly dividend by 11% and re-authorizing its stock repurchase program of up to $1 billion. Just before the announcement, the stock was down about 0.4%. The new dividend of 50 cents a share, up from 45 cents a share, will be payable June 15 to shareholders of record on May 25. Based on Tuesday's stock closing price of $63.10, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 3.17%, compared with the implied S&P 500 SPX, +1.67% yield of 1.95%, according to FactSet. Carnival's stock had shed 4.9% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 SPX, +1.67% had slipped 0.6%.