5 Stocks Going Ex-Dividend Tomorrow: IEP, WTR, CNP, EQT, AMGN

Editor's Note: Any reference to TheStreet Ratings and its underlying recommendation does not reflect the opinion of TheStreet, Inc. or any of its contributors including Jim Cramer or Stephanie Link.

Tomorrow, Aug. 14, 2013, 48 U.S. common stocks are scheduled to go ex-dividend. The dividend yields on these stocks range from 0.1% to 18.2%. All of these stocks can be found on our stocks going ex-dividend section of our dividend calendar.

Highlighted Stocks Going Ex-Dividend Tomorrow:

Icahn

At a price of $75.21 as of 9:34 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 6.8%.

The average volume for Icahn has been 152,000 shares per day over the past 30 days. Icahn has a market cap of $8.3 billion and is part of the automotive industry. Shares are up 65% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday.

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The company has a P/E ratio of 19.36.

Aqua America

Owners of Aqua America (NYSE: WTR) shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 19 cents per share. At a price of $32.50 as of 9:35 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 2.3%.

The average volume for Aqua America has been 714,500 shares per day over the past 30 days. Aqua America has a market cap of $4.6 billion and is part of the utilities industry. Shares are up 27.8% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday.

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Aqua America, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water or wastewater services in the United States. The company has a P/E ratio of 21.77.

TheStreet Ratings rates Aqua America as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, notable return on equity, impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income and good cash flow from operations. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally high debt management risk by most measures that we evaluated. You can view the full Aqua America Ratings Report now.

CenterPoint Energy

Owners of CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP) shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 21 cents per share. At a price of $24.01 as of 9:35 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 3.4%.

The average volume for CenterPoint Energy has been 2.7 million shares per day over the past 30 days. CenterPoint Energy has a market cap of $10.4 billion and is part of the utilities industry. Shares are up 26% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday.

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CenterPoint Energy, Inc. operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company has a P/E ratio of 16.17.

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

EQT

Owners of EQT (NYSE: EQT) shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 3 cents per share. At a price of $83.24 as of 9:35 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 0.1%.

The average volume for EQT has been 1.3 million shares per day over the past 30 days. EQT has a market cap of $12.7 billion and is part of the utilities industry. Shares are up 43.5% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday.

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EQT Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated energy company in the United States. It operates in three segments: EQT Production, EQT Midstream, and Distribution. The company has a P/E ratio of 47.81.

TheStreet Ratings rates EQT as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, expanding profit margins, good cash flow from operations, increase in net income and solid stock price performance. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had somewhat disappointing return on equity. You can view the full EQT Ratings Report now.

Amgen

Owners of Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 47 cents per share. At a price of $108.54 as of 9:35 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 1.7%.

The average volume for Amgen has been 3.4 million shares per day over the past 30 days. Amgen has a market cap of $82.6 billion and is part of the drugs industry. Shares are up 27.2% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday.

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Amgen Inc., a biotechnology medicines company, engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of human therapeutic products in the areas of supportive cancer care, inflammation, nephrology, and bone diseases primarily in the United States, Europe, and Canada. The company has a P/E ratio of 18.43.

TheStreet Ratings rates Amgen as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, notable return on equity, reasonable valuation levels, solid stock price performance and growth in earnings per share. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income. You can view the full Amgen Ratings Report now.

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.
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