It's been a great start to the week so far for the Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price. At the time of writing, Woodside shares are up a healthy 0.45%, bringing this ASX 200 energy share to $37.96.
It's not often we can guarantee that an ASX share will have a bad day. But we can say with certainty that it will take a lot to get Woodsde shares to rise tomorrow though. That's because this ASX 200 oil share is about to trade ex-dividend.
Booming profits lead to record dividends
Last month, Woodside delivered what was a very well-received earnings report, covering the six months to 31 December 2022. As we brought to you at the time, Woodside reported a 142% spike in revenue to US$16.82 billion.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by an even more impressive 172% to US$11.23 billion, while underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) was up 223% to a record US$5.23 billion.
Investors have been rewarded handsomely for these bumper profits, with Woodside also declaring that its final dividend would come in at US$1.44 per share, fully franked, up 37% over last year's corresponding dividend payment.
The final amount has yet to be decided in our local currency (it will be on 14 March), but at today's exchange rates, this would equate to a dividend payment worth approximately $2.13 per share.
Barring any crazy moves in exchange rates, this will be the largest-ever final dividend Woodside has paid. It won't quite match last year's interim dividend though, which saw Woodside dole out a whopping $3.20 per share.
Still, this interim dividend will take Woodside's full-year payout to around $5.33 per share.
Investors have reacted very positively to Woodside's announcements last month. The Woodside share price is now up by almost 10% since these earnings were revealed:
Woodside's monster dividend is inbound, but you'd better be quick
But if investors wish to see this big payment hit their bank accounts on the nominated payday of 5 April, they had better be quick. That's because Woodside shares are going ex-dividend tomorrow. When a share trades ex-dividend, it closes off the latest dividend payment from new investors.
So anyone who owns Woodside shares as of close of market this afternoon will get this latest dividend. But anyone who buys Woodside from tomorrow's session onwards will miss out.
Since Woodside shares will become notionally less viable tomorrow, reflecting this loss of dividend potential, expect to see a big drop in the Woodside share price to compensate for this. This is normally what happens when an ASX dividend share goes 'ex-div'.
Investors can then look forward to banking this payment on 5 April.
At the current Woodside share price, this ASX 200 energy share now has a dividend yield of 14.03% when factoring in this upcoming dividend payment.
