Benzinga | Jan 28, 2021 10:20AM EST

Understanding Signature Bank's Ex-Dividend Date

Signature Bank (NASDAQ:SBNY) declared a dividend payable on February 12, 2021 to its shareholders as of January 21, 2021. It was also announced that shareholders of Signature Bank's stock as of February 1, 2021 are entitled to the dividend. The stock is expected to become ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. Signature Bank, which has a current dividend per share of $0.56, has an ex-dividend date scheduled for January 29, 2021. That equates to a dividend yield of 1.46% at current price levels.

What Are 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.

Understanding Signature Bank's Dividend Performance

Over the past year, Signature Bank has experienced no change regarding its dividend payouts and a downward trend regarding its yields. Last year on January 30, 2020 the company's payout was $0.56, which has returned to its value today. Signature Bank's dividend yield last year was 1.61%, which has since decreased by 0.15%.

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.

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