On May 13, 2021, Everest Re Group (NYSE:RE) announced shareholders can expect to receive a dividend payable on June 9, 2021. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. Everest Re Group has an ex-dividend date set for for May 25, 2021. The company's current dividend payout is $1.55, which equates to a dividend yield of 2.36% at current price levels.

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.

Over the past year, Everest Re Group has seen its dividend payouts remain the same and its yields trend downward. Last year on May 26, 2020 the company's payout sat at $1.55, which has returned to its value today. Everest Re Group's dividend yield last year was 3.6%, which has since decreased by 1.24%.
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.