Investing in mutual funds isn’t difficult, but it isn’t quite the same as investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or stocks, either. Because of their unique structure, there are certain aspects of trading mutual funds that may not be intuitive for the first-time investor. Due to past abuses, many mutual funds impose limitations or fines on certain types…
Month: March 2017
Make Ex-Dividends Work for You
A common stock’s ex-dividend price behavior is a continuing source of confusion to investors. Read on to learn about what happens to the market value of a share of stock when it goes “ex” (as in ex-dividend) and why. We’ll also provide some ideas that may help you hang on to more of your hard-earned dollars. KEY TAKEAWAYS When buying and selling…
Ex-Dividend Date vs. Date of Record: What’s the Difference?
Ex-Dividend Date vs. Date of Record: An Overview Are you mystified by the workings of dividends and dividend distributions? Chances are it’s not the concept of dividends that confuses you. The ex-dividend date and date of record are the tricky factors. Briefly, in order to be eligible for payment of stock dividends, you must buy the stock (or already…
Dividends Per Share
Dividends per share (DPS) measures the total amount of profits a company pays out to its shareholders, generally over a year, on a per-share basis. DPS can be calculated by subtracting the special dividends from the sum of all dividends over one year, and dividing this figure by the outstanding shares. For example, company HIJ has five million…
How Dividends Affect Stock Prices
Dividends can affect the price of their underlying stock in a variety of ways. While the dividend history of a given stock plays a general role in its popularity, the declaration and payment of dividends also has a specific and predictable effect on market prices. How Dividends Work For investors, dividends serve as a popular source of…