- What dividend yield means
- The payment per share divided by the share price. Yields compare only on the same base: the yield on the close before the record date and the yield on today's price are different numbers. A high yield often means the price fell, not that the payment grew.
- How to receive a payment
- The payment goes to whoever holds the share on the record date. On a market that settles the next day, buy at least one trading day before that date. After the cut-off the price usually drops by about the size of the payment: that is a dividend gap, not a loss in itself.
- Declared payment versus forecast
- A declared payment was approved by the board of directors or the shareholders' meeting. Nobody has approved a forecast, and the company may pay a different amount or nothing at all. Check the status of a row before counting on future income.
- What to look for in the payment history
- Regularity, and what the payments are made from. Several years of growing payments say more than one large one-off sum. Tax and broker fees are not included in the table: less reaches the account.