Why is the Accent share price sinking 6% today?

This footwear retailer's shares are taking a hit on Wednesday. But why?

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The Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1) share price is taking a tumble on Wednesday.

In morning trade, the footwear retailer's shares are down 6% to $1.94.

A bored woman looking at her computer, it's bad news.

Image source: Getty Images

Why is the Accent share price falling?

Don't worry, today's decline has nothing to do with a bad update or a broker downgrade, but everything to do with its upcoming dividend.

That's because today is the day that the company's shares trade ex-dividend for its interim dividend.

When that happens, it means the rights to the upcoming dividend payment are now settled.

So, even if you were to buy shares today, you would not be eligible to receive the Accent dividend when it is paid. Instead, the dividend will go to the seller of the shares on pay day.

As a result, its shares have fallen to reflect this. After all, if you were buying its shares, you wouldn't want to pay for something that you won't receive. And a dividend makes up part of a share price valuation.

The Accent dividend

Last month, Accent released its half-year results and reported a 1.7% decline in sales to $810.9 million and a 27.6% reduction in net profit after tax to $42.2 million.

While this led to the Accent board cutting its interim dividend by 29% to 8.5 cents per share, this still works out to be a very attractive 4.1% dividend yield based on where the Accent share price ended yesterday's session.

Eligible shareholders can now look forward to receiving this dividend later this month. It is currently scheduled to be paid to shareholders on 21 March.

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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