Analyzing Essential Utilities's Ex-Dividend Date

On October 21, 2020, Essential Utilities WTRG announced shareholders can expect to receive a dividend payable on December 1, 2020. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. Essential Utilities, whose current dividend payout is $0.25, has an ex-dividend date set at November 12, 2020. The payout equates to a dividend yield of 2.38% at current price levels.

Understanding Ex-Dividend Dates'

Ex-dividend dates are when company shares stop trading with their current dividend payouts in preparation for those companies to announce new ones. Usually, a company's ex-dividend date falls one business day before its record date. Investors should keep this in mind when purchasing stocks because buying them on or after ex-dividend dates does not qualify them to receive the declared payment. Newly declared dividends go to shareholders who have owned that stock before the ex-dividend date. Most ex-dividend dates operate on a quarterly basis.

Understanding Essential Utilities's Dividend Performance

Over the past year, Essential Utilities has seen its dividend payouts and yields climb upward overall. Last year (November 14, 2019), the company's payout sat at $0.23, which has since increased by $0.02. Essential Utilities's dividend yield last year was 2.07%, which has since grown by 0.31%.
Companies use dividend yields in different strategic ways. Some companies may opt to not give yields altogether to reinvest in themselves. Other companies may opt to increase or decrease their yield amounts to control how their shares circulate throughout the stock market.

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