Common share dividend yield

Unlike preferred stock, there is no stipulated dividend for common stock. Instead, dividends paid to holders of common stock are set by management, usually in relation to the company's earnings. There is no guarantee that future dividends will match past dividends or even be paid at all. Due to the difficulty in accurately forecasting future dividends, the most commonly-cited figure for dividend yield is the current yield which is calculated using the following formula:

For example, take a company which paid dividends totaling $1 last year and whose shares currently sell for $20. Its dividend yield would be calculated as follows:

Rather than use last year's dividend, some try to estimate what the next year's dividend will be and use this as the basis of a future dividend yield. Such a scheme is used for the calculation of the FTSE UK Dividend+ Index. It should be noted that estimates of future dividend yields are by definition uncertain.