What Should Investor Know Before Buying/Selling Dividend Stocks? – (VSBN, VGR, UTI, TOT, KGC, HWKN)

Prior to buying stock in a company that distributes cash dividends, check today’s newspaper. If the stock you want to buy has been marked x in any of these papers, it means that it is already gone ex-dividend. In case of a company that pays dividends in form of stock, you should also confirm if the stock has approached ex-dividend ahead of investing in it.

Another thing you should determine is more information about the company’s dividend payment practices because the procedures of dividend payments may vary. If you sell your shares in a stock prior to the ex-dividend date, you are going to lose the right to claim your shares’ dividend on the upcoming dividend payment. On the days near the ex-dividend date the stock usually moves up. Below discussed even stocks are approaching their Ex-Dividend Date on September 19, 2012.

VSB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSBN) maintains an annual dividend yield of 2.24% and a payout ratio of 35.23%. The stock over the last 52 weeks has been trading in a range of $9.84 – $11.28. Its market capitalization stands at $19.00 million. VSBN operates as the holding company for Victory State Bank that provides commercial and retail banking services to individuals and businesses primarily in Staten Island, New York.

Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States. Vector Group Ltd. has an annual dividend yield of 9.10% and keeps a payout ratio at 613.68%. The stock in the last 52 weeks has been trading between $16.40 and $18.59. The company is valued at $1.43 billion.

Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) currently holds a yearly dividend yield of 3.03%. The stock has traded between $10.92 and $15.14 in the past 52 weeks and has a market capitalization of $327.11 million. UTI engages in the provision of postsecondary education for students seeking careers as professional automotive, diesel, collision repair, motorcycle, and marine technicians in the United States.

TOTAL S.A. (ADR) (NYSE:TOT) together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated oil and gas company worldwide. TOTAL S.A. has a dividend yield of 5.54%. The stock in the past 52 weeks has been floating in the range of $40.00 – $57.06. The company’s market capitalization stands at $122.925 billion.

Kinross Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:KGC) has an annual dividend yield of 1.56%. The stock has traded between $7.11 and $17.90 in the last 12-months. Its market capitalization is now at $11.70 billion. KGC, together with its subsidiaries, engages in mining and processing gold ores.

Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN) distributes bulk chemicals, as well as blends, manufactures, and distributes specialty chemicals. Hawkins, Inc.’s annual dividend yield is positive at 1.68%. The stock in the previous 52 weeks has been hovering in range of $29.05 – $42.93. The company is worth $424.64 million.

Disclosure: Opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors alone who have no stake in any stocks mentioned, and did not plan to acquire any stake within the next 72 hours.