4 Stocks Going Ex-Dividend Monday: MGA, NWS, KSS, HPQ

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

Monday, March 11, 2013, 16 U.S. common stocks are scheduled to go ex-dividend. The dividend yields on these stocks range from 0.4% to 7.2%. All of these stocks can be found on our stocks going ex-dividend section of our dividend calendar.

Highlighted Stocks Going Ex-Dividend Monday:

Magna International

Owners of Magna International (NYSE: MGA) shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 32 cents per share. At a price of $55.84 as of 9:35 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 2.3%.

The average volume for Magna International has been 696,400 shares per day over the past 30 days. Magna International has a market cap of $12.8 billion and is part of the wholesale industry. Shares are up 10.7% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

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Magna International Inc. designs, develops, and manufactures automotive systems, assemblies, modules, and components; and engineers and assembles vehicles to original equipment manufacturers of cars and light trucks in North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa. The company has a P/E ratio of 9.33. Currently there are 8 analysts that rate Magna International a buy, 1 analyst rates it a sell, and 4 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Magna International as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, solid stock price performance, attractive valuation levels and good cash flow from operations. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins. You can view the full Magna International Ratings Report now.

• See our top-yielding stocks list.

News Corporation

Owners of News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 9 cents per share. At a price of $30.58 as of 9:35 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 0.6%.

The average volume for News Corporation has been 3.0 million shares per day over the past 30 days. News Corporation has a market cap of $24.2 billion and is part of the media industry. Shares are up 15.6% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

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News Corporation operates as a diversified media company worldwide. The company has a P/E ratio of 17.54. Currently there are 2 analysts that rate News Corporation a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and none rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates News Corporation as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its compelling growth in net income, revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, solid stock price performance and attractive valuation levels. Although the company may harbor some minor weaknesses, we feel they are unlikely to have a significant impact on results. You can view the full News Corporation Ratings Report now.

• See our top-yielding stocks list.

Kohl's

Owners of Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 35 cents per share. At a price of $46.27 as of 9:36 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 3%.

The average volume for Kohl's has been 3.2 million shares per day over the past 30 days. Kohl's has a market cap of $10.6 billion and is part of the retail industry. Shares are up 7.5% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

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Kohl's Corporation operates department stores in the United States. Its stores offer private, exclusive, and national branded apparel, footwear, and accessories for women, men, and children; soft home products, such as sheets and pillows; and housewares targeted to middle-income customers. The company has a P/E ratio of 11.10. Currently there are 7 analysts that rate Kohl's a buy, 1 analyst rates it a sell, and 9 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Kohl's as a hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, attractive valuation levels and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, weak operating cash flow and poor profit margins. You can view the full Kohl's Ratings Report now.

• See our top-yielding stocks list.

Hewlett-Packard

Owners of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 13 cents per share. At a price of $20.92 as of 9:36 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 2.5%.

The average volume for Hewlett-Packard has been 28.0 million shares per day over the past 30 days. Hewlett-Packard has a market cap of $40.9 billion and is part of the computer hardware industry. Shares are up 46.3% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

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Hewlett-Packard Company and its subsidiaries provide products, technologies, software, solutions, and services to individual consumers, small-and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health, and education sectors worldwide. Currently there is 1 analyst that rates Hewlett-Packard a buy, 6 analysts rate it a sell, and 17 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Hewlett-Packard as a sell. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its deteriorating net income, generally high debt management risk, disappointing return on equity, poor profit margins and generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself. You can view the full Hewlett-Packard Ratings Report now.

• See our top-yielding stocks list.

More About Dividends:

One benefit of owning a stock is the potential that you will be paid a dividend. The distribution of dividend payments is another way for a company to share its profit with you. A dividend means that the company pays you a certain amount of money, either as a one-time payment or more commonly on a quarterly basis, for each share of stock you own.

Many times, dividends come at the expense of greater price appreciation, because the company is distributing its profits to shareholders rather than reinvesting the profits back into the growth of the company. However, companies that pay dividends can be very attractive to investors when they offer a steady stream of income. There are some important terms and dates an investor should be familiar with before purchasing any dividend-paying companies. Let's work through an example to help better explain some of these terms:

On March 1, ABC Widget Company has decided that because it holds excess cash and lacks investment opportunities, it would like to reward shareholders with a regular quarterly dividend payment. The date for this particular announcement is known as the declaration date. It is on this date that the company announces the specific dividend payment along with the holder of record date (aka record date) and the payment date. The company announces that a dividend payment of 25 cents per share will be payable March 31, 2012 (the payment date) to all shareholders of record at the close of business on March 16, 2012 (holder of record date). What does this all mean? Well the short story is that the company looks at its records on March 16 and anyone listed on the books as an owner of ABC Widget company will be eligible for the dividend payment (on March 31).

The one other important term to remember is the ex-dividend date. The ex-dividend date (typically two trading days before the holder of record date for U.S. securities) is the day in which a company begins trading without the dividend. In order to have a claim on a dividend, shares must be purchased no later than the last business day before the ex-dividend date. A company trading ex-dividend will have the upcoming dividend subtracted from the share price at the start of the trading day. Many times, the price of a stock will increase in anticipation of the upcoming dividend as the ex-dividend date approaches, yet will fall back by the amount of the dividend on the ex-dividend date.

• See our dividend calendar.

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.