It's set to be a very good day for shareholders of Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) today. And that's before we know what the markets will bring us this Thursday. How do we know? Because today is payday for the Woolworths dividend.
As an ASX 200 blue chip share, Woolworths is a well-known income provider. The supermarket giant has been paying solid dividends for decades.
This continues in 2023. Back in February, Woolworths delivered its latest financial report. For the six months to 31 December 2022, Woolies reported $33.17 billion in sales, up a decent 4%. Net profit after tax (NPAT) came out even better at $907 million, up 14% over the prior period.
This enabled Woolworths to announce a 17.9% increase for its first dividend of 2023. Shareholders are in line to bag an interim dividend of 46 cents per share, fully franked. Last year's interim dividend only measured up to 39 cents per share, so this latest payment is a big deal for the company and for shareholders.
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What kind of dividend are Woolworths shareholders getting?
But only shareholders that owned Woolworths shares before the ex-dividend date of 2 March will be receiving this dividend. If you bought your first Woolies shares after that date, you'll sadly miss out on this round, and you'll have to wait until the next dividend is declared.
But for eligible investors, there should be a new deposit in your bank account by the end of today. Unless you've opted to receive additional Woolworths shares in lieu of cash under the company's dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) of course.
Yesterday, Woolworths shares closed at $39.51 each, putting its year-to-date gains at a pleasing 19.4%. That Woolworths share price gives the company a trailing dividend yield of 2.51%, or 3.59% grossed-up with those full franking credits.
