Benzinga | Mar 4, 2021 10:13AM EST

Understanding First American Financial's Ex-Dividend Date

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) declared a dividend payable on March 15, 2021 to its shareholders as of January 20, 2021. It was also announced that shareholders of First American Financial's stock as of March 8, 2021 are entitled to the dividend. The stock is expected to become ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. First American Financial, which has a current dividend per share of $0.46, has an ex-dividend date scheduled for March 5, 2021. That equates to a dividend yield of 3.45% at current price levels.

Understanding Ex-Dividend Dates'

Ex-dividend dates signal when company shares cease to trade with their current dividend payouts. There is a small intermission period before companies announce new dividends. 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.

First American Financial's Dividend Payouts And Yields

Over the past year, First American Financial has experienced an overall upward trend regarding its dividend payouts and yields. Last year on March 6, 2020 the company's payout was $0.44, which has since grown by $0.02. Similarly, First American Financial's dividend yield in last year was 2.92%, which has since grown by 0.53%.

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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