Indicated Dividend

The indicated dividend is the estimated cash dividends a stock will pay in the next four quarters, based on what it paid in the most recent period. Stock tables commonly include the indicated dividend to tell investors the annual cash return they can expect from payouts of earnings; the indicated dividend can then be compared with returns from other securities, like bonds. In the Wall Street Journal stock tables, the indicated dividend comes directly after the stock name; in Barron's tables, the indicated dividend is in the last column. While the indicated dividend is based on what the stock paid in the most recent quarter, be aware that companies declare dividend rates for varied time-spans. Thus the indicated dividend rate in a stock table may reflect the declared dividend rate for the company's most recent quarterly, six-month, or annual period.