IN PLAIN ENGLISH
Yield based on the dividends a company is expected to pay over the next twelve months.
WHERE YOU MEET IT
The screener's yield column, the Yield column for the shares in your holdings (marked Fwd), Div Yield (Fwd) in a share's detail, and the estimate for a holding's next declared payment.
WATCH OUT FOR
It's an estimate. If the payout ratio is stretched, treat it gently.
FULL DEFINITION
Forward dividend yield: the company's current annual dividend rate divided by the current share price.
EXAMPLE
A company pays 50p a quarter and the share price is £40. Its forward rate is £2 a year, so the forward yield is 5%, even if it paid only £1.80 over the last twelve months before a raise.
HOW IT'S CALCULATED
Div Yield (Fwd) = forward annual dividend per share ÷ current share price × 100, rounded to 2 decimal places. Taken from the market data provider's dividend yield, which uses its forward dividend rate: the current regular dividend scaled up to a year, usually the latest regular payment × the number of payments a year. It is not what was actually paid over the last twelve months, and not an analyst forecast. It is based on market price, not your purchase price, and shows 0 for a share that has paid no dividend in the last year, or N/A when the provider has no dividend rate for a share that does pay. Shares only: funds and ETFs show Div Yield (TTM) instead, because the provider has no forward rate for them.
EXPLAINED IN
Educational content only. It is not personal financial advice.