On June 11, 2021, Heartland Express (NASDAQ:HTLD) announced shareholders can expect to receive a dividend payable on July 1, 2021. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. Heartland Express, which has a current dividend per share of $0.02, has an ex-dividend date scheduled for June 18, 2021. That equates to a dividend yield of 0.45% 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. Most ex-dividend dates operate on a quarterly basis.

Over the past year, Heartland Express has seen its dividend payouts remain the same and its yields climb upward overall. Last year on June 18, 2020 the company's payout sat at $0.02, which has returned to its value today. Heartland Express's dividend yield last year was 0.38%, which has since grown by 0.07%.
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.