Houston Natural Resources Corp (HNRC)

[makeithappen]

From the SEC site, it is about being a holder on the record date.

"To determine whether you should get cash and most stock dividends, you need to look at two important dates. They are the "record date" or "date of record" and the "ex-dividend date" or "ex-date.""

"When a company declares a dividend, it sets a record date when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend."

"If you purchase a stock on its ex-dividend date or after, you will not receive the next dividend payment. Instead, the seller gets the dividend. If you purchase before the ex-dividend date, you get the dividend."

In the case of WTNR the ex-dividend date came the first day after the record date, unlike cash dividends that have an ex-dividend two days before the record date:

" Sometimes a company pays a dividend in the form of stock rather than cash. The stock dividend may be additional shares in the company or in a subsidiary being spun off. The procedures for stock dividends may be different from cash dividends. The ex-dividend date is set the first business day after the stock dividend is paid (and is also after the record date)."

All of the above quotes and clarifications are on the 1 page SEC document that explains when one is eligible for dividends, link below:

http://www.sec.gov/answers/dividen.htm