American Finance Trust (NASDAQ:AFIN) declared a dividend payable on July 15, 2021 to its shareholders as of July 1, 2021. It was also announced that shareholders of American Finance Trust's stock as of July 12, 2021 are entitled to the dividend. The stock is expected to become ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. The ex-dividend date for American Finance Trust will be on July 9, 2021. The company's current dividend payout is at $0.21. That equates to a dividend yield of 30.07% 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, American Finance Trust has seen its dividend payouts and yields climb upward overall. Last year (August 7, 2020), the company's payout sat at $0.07, which has since increased by $0.14. American Finance Trust's dividend yield last year was 10.71%, which has since grown by 19.36%.
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.