Analyzing Imperial Oil's Ex-Dividend Date

Imperial Oil IMO declared a dividend payable on January 1, 2021 to its shareholders as of October 30, 2020. It was also announced that shareholders of Imperial Oil's stock as of December 3, 2020 are entitled to the dividend. The stock is expected to become ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. Imperial Oil, whose current dividend payout is $0.22, has an ex-dividend date set at December 2, 2020. The payout equates to a dividend yield of 5.28% at current price levels.

What Is An Ex-Dividend Date?

An ex-dividend date is when a company's shares stop trading with its current dividend payout in preparation for the company to announce a new one. 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 Imperial Oil's Dividend History

Over the past year, Imperial Oil has seen its dividend payouts remain the same and its yields climb upward overall. Last year on December 2, 2019 the company's payout sat at $0.22, which has returned to its value today. Imperial Oil's dividend yield last year was 2.68%, which has since grown by 2.6%.
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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