Benzinga | Dec 14, 2020 10:12AM EST

Understanding Telephone and Data's Ex-Dividend Date

Telephone and Data (NYSE:TDS) declared a dividend payable on December 30, 2020 to its shareholders as of November 17, 2020. It was also announced that shareholders of Telephone and Data's stock as of December 16, 2020 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 Telephone and Data is set for December 15, 2020. The company's current dividend payout sits at $0.17, equating to a dividend yield of 3.51% at current price levels.

The Significance Of Ex-Dividend Dates

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.

Telephone and Data's Dividend History

Over the past year, Telephone and Data has experienced an overall upward trend regarding its dividend payouts and yields. Last year on December 13, 2019 the company's payout was $0.17, which has since grown by $0.01. Similarly, Telephone and Data's dividend yield in last year was 2.79%, which has since grown by 0.72%.

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.

Click here to find details on Telephone and Data's previous dividends.