Benzinga | Mar 18, 2021 10:16AM EDT

Ex-Dividend Date Insight: National CineMedia

On March 8, 2021, National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI) declared a dividend payable on April 5, 2021 to its shareholders. National CineMedia also announced that shareholders on the company's books on or before March 22, 2021 are entitled to the dividend. The stock will then go ex-dividend 1 business day(s) before the record date. National CineMedia, whose current dividend payout is $0.05, has an ex-dividend date set at March 19, 2021. The payout equates to a dividend yield of 4.21% at current price levels.

What Is 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.

National CineMedia's Dividend History

Over the past year, National CineMedia has seen its dividend payouts and yields descend downward overall. Last year on March 2, 2020 the company's payout sat at $0.19, which has since decreased by $0.14. National CineMedia's dividend yield last year was 9.58%, which has since declined by 5.37%.

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 National CineMedia's previous dividends.