On April 22, 2021, Bar Harbor Bankshares (AMEX:BHB) announced shareholders can expect to receive a dividend payable on June 18, 2021. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. The ex-dividend date for Bar Harbor Bankshares is set for May 17, 2021. The company's current dividend payout sits at $0.24, equating to a dividend yield of 3.19% at current price levels.

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.

Over the past year, Bar Harbor Bankshares has experienced an overall upward trend regarding its dividend payouts and a downward trend regarding its yields. Last year on May 15, 2020 the company's payout was $0.22, which has since grown by $0.02. Bar Harbor Bankshares's dividend yield last year was 5.45%, which has since decreased by 2.26%.
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.