How a company determines whether you should receive a dividend is by using two dates: ex-dividend and record. You’ll need to have shares held in a company by these stated dates in order to receive a dividend payment.
You may have seen this term thrown about when referencing specific stocks, but what exactly is a dividend aristocrat? Simply put, a dividend aristocrat is traditionally a company in the S&P 500 index that has paid and increased its dividend payments for at least 25 consecutive years. These are the companies you should at least consider for a dividend stock-focused investment portfolio.
A stock split is a process whereby a company essentially multiplies the total number of shares. The main reason for doing so is to increase liquidity and attract new investors by lowering the share price without affecting other important stock-related metrics. Common stock split ratios include 2-for-1, 3-for-1, and 4-for-1.
Being able to tell how well a company is performing before or after investing money is incredibly important. If you plan to buy or currently own dividend-paying stocks, that’s not the only metric you need to keep tabs on. The dividend yield is a good indicator as to how good the payments are, but the payout ratio is how you can tell whether a company can actually afford the said dividends.
The S&P 500 index, which essentially tracks the top 500 companies based in the U.S., is set to hit all-time highs. Wait, what? How is it possible for the stock market to hit all-time highs during a pandemic where hundreds of thousands of people have sadly lost their lives? The markets are strange mystical beasts.
Choosing the best stocks to purchase and companies to invest in is a gruelling process. If you’re focused on building a stream of passive income, the dividend yield is an important metric you should factor in your analysis process. But what is the dividend yield, why is it so important, and how do you calculate it?
I may have messed up the formulas that calculate all the values on the summary tab. This then provides incorrect figures that do not match up with what’s in your portfolio. After making a few edits to the spreadsheet dividend tracker with update 0.7, it seems as though Google automated some alterations to these working formulas and I didn’t spot them.
Earning regular dividend payments are a great source of passive income. I’ve written plenty about choosing some great dividend stocks to invest in, helping secure your financial future. It’s not always positive news for dividend-paying stocks. They can be cut as well as increased. Your favourite company just cut its dividend payout to shareholders. What do you do?
Reading books is still the best way (in my opinion, of course) of absorbing information. While I encourage you to browse my blog, it’s always best to read pages written by the experts. I’ve rounded up some of the best books I’ve read on investing to help get you introduced to the markets and set up with your own portfolio.
If you dream to retire early at the age of 50, or even 40, you’re going to need to cut back on spending and aggressively save. To enjoy life to its fullest without working, your retirement funds and investment portfolio will need to cover your current (or desired) level of expenditure. So how much should you aim to have invested?