4 Stocks Going Ex-Dividend Monday: TXRH, AEE, MJN, NWSA

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:

Texas Roadhouse

Owners of Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ: TXRH) shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 12 cents per share. At a price of $19.67 as of 9:36 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 2.4%.

The average volume for Texas Roadhouse has been 952,200 shares per day over the past 30 days. Texas Roadhouse has a market cap of $1.4 billion and is part of the leisure industry. Shares are up 17.8% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

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Texas Roadhouse, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a full-service casual dining restaurant chain. It operates restaurants under the Texas Roadhouse and Aspen Creek names. The company also provides supervisory and administrative services for other license and franchise restaurants. The company has a P/E ratio of 19.66. Currently there are 6 analysts that rate Texas Roadhouse a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and 12 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Texas Roadhouse 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, growth in earnings per share and increase in net income. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins. You can view the full Texas Roadhouse Ratings Report now.

• See our top-yielding stocks list.

Ameren

Owners of Ameren (NYSE: AEE) shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 40 cents per share. At a price of $34.07 as of 9:35 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 4.7%.

The average volume for Ameren has been 2.0 million shares per day over the past 30 days. Ameren has a market cap of $8.3 billion and is part of the utilities industry. Shares are up 10.8% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

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Ameren Corporation operates as a public utility holding company in Missouri and Illinois, the United States. Currently there is 1 analyst that rates Ameren a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and 8 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Ameren as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its increase in stock price during the past year and good cash flow from operations. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income. You can view the full Ameren Ratings Report now.

• See our top-yielding stocks list.

Mead Johnson Nutrition Company

Owners of Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE: MJN) shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 34 cents per share. At a price of $75.15 as of 9:36 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 1.8%.

The average volume for Mead Johnson Nutrition Company has been 1.8 million shares per day over the past 30 days. Mead Johnson Nutrition Company has a market cap of $15.3 billion and is part of the food & beverage industry. Shares are up 13.4% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

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Mead Johnson Nutrition Company manufactures, distributes, and sells infant formulas, children's nutrition, and other nutritional products. The company has a P/E ratio of 25.62. Currently there are 6 analysts that rate Mead Johnson Nutrition Company a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and 6 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Mead Johnson Nutrition Company as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its notable return on equity, expanding profit margins, good cash flow from operations, impressive record of earnings per share growth and compelling growth in net income. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had lackluster performance in the stock itself. You can view the full Mead Johnson Nutrition Company Ratings Report now.

• See our top-yielding stocks list.

News Corporation

Owners of News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWSA) shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 9 cents per share. At a price of $30.26 as of 9:36 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 0.6%.

The average volume for News Corporation has been 17.6 million shares per day over the past 30 days. News Corporation has a market cap of $45.6 billion and is part of the media industry. Shares are up 17.1% 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 17.27. Currently there are 16 analysts that rate News Corporation a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and 2 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 no company is perfect, currently we do not see any significant weaknesses which are likely to detract from the generally positive outlook. You can view the full News Corporation 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.