Cimarex Energy (NYSE:XEC) declared a dividend payable on June 1, 2021 to its shareholders as of February 18, 2021. It was also announced that shareholders of Cimarex Energy's stock as of May 14, 2021 are entitled to the dividend. The stock is expected to become ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. Cimarex Energy has an ex-dividend date planned for May 13, 2021. The company's current dividend payout sits at $0.27. That equates to a dividend yield of 2.02% at current price levels.

Ex-dividend dates signal when company shares cease to trade with their current dividend payouts. There is a small intermission period before companies announce new dividends. 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. Typically, companies will announce and implement new dividend yields on a quarterly basis.

Over the past year, Cimarex Energy has seen its dividend payouts climb upward and its yields trend downward. Last year on May 14, 2020 the company's payout sat at $0.22, which has since increased by $0.05. Cimarex Energy's dividend yield last year was 2.26%, which has since decreased by 0.24%.
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.