Blue chips companies usually pays dividend to their shareholders, this represent as an excess of its earnings. They’ll pay their shareholders in the form of dividends and will be distributed base in a number of shares you’re holding, or the number of shares will determine how much you can get.

Unfortunately, public listed companies are not required to give dividends to their shareholders, like instance that the company is in-need of additional capital or fund for its expansion. However, it doesn’t mean also that it is now sustaining losses or just going to crash.

But companies with good paying dividend record greatly influence investors’ decision if the buyers are looking for a long-term investment and it is relatively a degree of company’s security, especially if the investor’s saving on this investment is purposely for his/her retirement years.

On the other hand, short-term stock traders makes profit from dividends just by riding the momentum which now contrarily with the long term investors’ idea. Riding stock price momentum relies on the speculations and people investing emotions. There’s no concrete basis that you could really earn through this but as per history and experience, we / they do.

Manila Water Company, Inc. (MWC)
Cash: Php0.23 per share  /  Ex-date: April 21, 2010
Record date: April 26, 2010
Payment date: May 19, 2010

The main concern here is only the Ex-date and the worth dividend (cash or stock). Short-term traders usually check the volatility of the company; it should be active or highly active for your easy exits. From the above sample, you can avail the dividend if only you purchase shares or stocks before the Ex-date. The exchange will post this news on a month of just a few weeks before the ex-date mention. Buy these shares as earlier as possible after posting. Remember, the price movements usually tend to go higher at approximate three to five percent before the ex-date and if you’re only targeting at least three percent growth in within a week or two, this is attainable already. People emotion usually dive-in to buy on the date nearer to Ex-date, on that period they will accept or buy shares in a little higher price in just trying to catch the dividend.

3% profit is not really bad in one to two or maximum of three weeks holding. The point on profiting from dividend is not really to avail on it, but just to ride the momentum price movement and disposing it while still high.

Good Luck.