DHT Holdings Inc (DHT)

[mnjones_son]

Who said dividends will be paid to stockholders who own stock on Friday? That's not how it works. Somebody misunderstood. The following is from About.com, Investing for Beginners:

"Date of record: This date is also known as “ex-dividend” date. It is the day upon which the stockholders of record are entitled to the upcoming dividend payment. According to Barron’s, a stock will usually begin trading ex-dividend or ex-rights the fourth business day before the payment date. In other words, only the owners of the shares on or before that date will receive the dividend. If you purchased shares of Coca-Cola after the ex-dividend date, you would not receive its upcoming dividend payment; the investor from whom you purchased your shares would."

The paragraph above doesn't make much sense, because they say the stock usually starts trading four days before the Payment date. They mean the date of record or ex-dividend date. Translated that means traders usually start buying stocks so they can get the dividend four days before the ex-dividend date, or four days before Jan. 7 in our case. But that only means the investors usually start buying. It doesn't mean you HAVE to buy four days early. The reason this is even important is because someone can own shares for a whole year, then sell the day before ex-dividend day, and not get a dividend. The person that buys their shares the day before ex-dividend day gets the dividend.

I don't know why people have to write things so they can't be understood, but as far as DHT is concerned what is important is that anyone who purchases the stock AFTER January 7 won't get the dividend. Also, anyone that sells BEFORE January 7 won't get the dividend.

Even I am still a little confused as to what happens to investors who trade one way or the other ON Jan. 7. If I understand a whole lot of writing written so no one can understand it, if you buy on the ex-dividend date itself, you get the dividend.