Benzinga | Nov 23, 2020 10:18AM EST

Analyzing Ritchie Bros Auctioneers's Ex-Dividend Date

On November 4, 2020, Ritchie Bros Auctioneers (NYSE: RBA) declared a dividend payable on December 16, 2020 to its shareholders. Ritchie Bros Auctioneers also announced that shareholders on the company's books on or before November 25, 2020 are entitled to the dividend. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. Ritchie Bros Auctioneers has an ex-dividend date planned for November 24, 2020. The company's current dividend payout sits at $0.22. That equates to a dividend yield of 1.31% at current price levels.

The Significance Of An Ex-Dividend Date

An ex-dividend date signals when a company's shares cease to trade with its current dividend payout. There is a small intermission period before the company announces a new dividend. 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. Typically, companies will announce and implement new dividend yields on a quarterly basis.

Ritchie Bros Auctioneers's Dividend History

Over the past year, Ritchie Bros Auctioneers has experienced an overall upward trend regarding its dividend payouts and a downward trend regarding its yields. Last year on November 26, 2019 the company's payout was $0.2, which has since grown by $0.02. Ritchie Bros Auctioneers's dividend yield last year was 1.93%, which has since decreased by 0.62%.

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.

To read more about Ritchie Bros Auctioneers click here.