3 Stocks Going Ex-Dividend Tomorrow: AB, REG, LPLA

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Tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014, 5:00 AM ET, 22 U.S. common stocks are scheduled to go ex-dividend. The dividend yields on these stocks range from 0.3% to 26.1%. All of these stocks can be found on our stocks going ex-dividend section of our dividend calendar.

Highlighted Stocks Going Ex-Dividend Tomorrow:

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P

Owners of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P (NYSE: AB) shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 60 cents per share. At a price of $24.87 as of 9:35 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 10.1%.

The average volume for AllianceBernstein Holding L.P has been 380,200 shares per day over the past 30 days. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P has a market cap of $2.3 billion and is part of the financial services industry. Shares are up 11.7% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

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Alliance Capital Management L.P. is a global, full-service investment management firm. Our initial business was managing retirement assets for institutions, primarily large corporate and public employee pension funds. The company has a P/E ratio of 13.94.

TheStreet Ratings rates AllianceBernstein Holding L.P as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income, good cash flow from operations and expanding profit margins. 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 AllianceBernstein Holding L.P Ratings Report now.

• See our top-yielding stocks list.

Regency Centers Corporation

Owners of Regency Centers Corporation (NYSE: REG) shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 47 cents per share. At a price of $51.09 as of 9:35 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 3.7%.

The average volume for Regency Centers Corporation has been 477,700 shares per day over the past 30 days. Regency Centers Corporation has a market cap of $4.7 billion and is part of the real estate industry. Shares are up 9.7% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

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RF Rev $53.3/$600 Unsecured Rev 0/$113.8 Unsecured.

TheStreet Ratings rates Regency Centers Corporation as a hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that the stock has had a generally disappointing performance in the past year. You can view the full Regency Centers Corporation Ratings Report now.

• See our top-yielding stocks list.

LPL Financial Holdings

Owners of LPL Financial Holdings (NASDAQ: LPLA) shares as of market close today will be eligible for a dividend of 24 cents per share. At a price of $54.46 as of 9:35 a.m. ET, the dividend yield is 1.8%.

The average volume for LPL Financial Holdings has been 860,600 shares per day over the past 30 days. LPL Financial Holdings has a market cap of $5.4 billion and is part of the financial services industry. Shares are up 16.2% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at financial institutions in the United States. The company has a P/E ratio of 21.85.

TheStreet Ratings rates LPL Financial Holdings as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income and solid stock price performance. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins. You can view the full LPL Financial Holdings 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.