Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see ENEOS Holdings, Inc. (TSE:5020) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next three days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date, which is the cut-off date for shareholders to be present on the company's books to be eligible for a dividend payment. The ex-dividend date is important as the process of settlement involves two full business days. So if you miss that date, you would not show up on the company's books on the record date. Therefore, if you purchase ENEOS Holdings' shares on or after the 27th of September, you won't be eligible to receive the dividend, when it is paid on the 2nd of December.
The company's next dividend payment will be JP¥11.00 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of JP¥22.00 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, ENEOS Holdings has a trailing yield of 2.8% on the current stock price of JP¥788.90. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.