Investing 102

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by AMSOILGUY

Once a stock goes EX-Dividend does that mean it will never pay a dividend again as long as it is traded? Can the company later on down the road say we are going to pay a dividend again on a later date?

A stock that declares the dividend - and they declare a dividend EVERY quarter... also declares the EX DATE and the PAY DAY... the EX DATE is the date by which you must have LEGALLY OWNED the shares in order to receive that dividend. The fact that you put is a buy order and see the shares in your account - does NOT MEAN that you are the legal owner. Typically you have to figure in the settlement date which is when the money is cleared from your account and blah blah blah... This is normally at least 3 BUSINESS DAYS...

So given that information --- if the company declares the dividend - and stated the EX DATE is NOVEMBER 30th -- then you need to have bought the shares by the 24th... to give yourself some breathing room if you wan to be sure to "capture" that dividend.

Conversely --- you could SELL the shares on December 1st (the next BUSINESS DAY) and you'd get paid the dividend even though you no longer own them.

EX dates have NOTHING to do with "never getting a dividend again" etc per your post. They're simply the date declared by which you must have been the legal owner to get THAT QUARTERS declared dividend.