The Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) share price has been one of the best performers on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
Just this week, the energy producer's shares accelerated to a multi-year high thanks to record high prices for coal.
With the war between Russia and Ukraine closing in on its third week, commodity prices have soared.
At yesterday's market close, Yancoal shares finished 1.20% higher to $5.05 apiece.
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Why are investors paying attention to Yancoal shares?
It appears investors are buying up Yancoal shares to get in on the commodity boom, as well as trading ex-dividend next week.
Investors need to buy Yancoal shares before market close on Monday to be eligible for the final dividend. The ex-dividend date is on Tuesday 15 March.
It's worth noting though that historically when a company reaches its ex-dividend day, its shares tend to fall in proportion to the dividend paid out. This is because investors tend to sell off the company's shares after securing the dividend.
When can Yancoal shareholders expect payment?
For those who are eligible for the Yancoal dividend, shareholders will receive a payment of 70.4 cents per share on 29 April. This comprises the 2021 final dividend of 50 cents per share and a special dividend of 20.4 cents per share.
Both dividends are unfranked which means shareholders will miss out on any imputed tax credits from this.
Management noted that the special dividend is a direct result of Yancoal benefiting from record coal prices in 2021.
The $930 million final dividend represents a payout ratio of 118% of profit after tax.
Yancoal share price snapshot
Since the beginning of 2022, the Yancoal share price has almost doubled in value.
When looking at the last 12 months, its shares have further accelerated, up around 115%.
Yancoal shares touched a multi-year high of $5.30 on Monday 7 March off the back of rising coal prices.
Yancoal commands a market capitalisation of roughly $6.69 billion with roughly 1.32 billion shares on its books.
