Stock trading 101: If you short a stock, who gets the dividend?# Stock
w*g
1 楼
When you short a stock, you (through your broker) are borrowing it from
someone who owns the stock in a margin account and then selling it. So you'
ve sold stock you didn't own and you owe the original owner everything they
would normally get if they still owned the stock. When a dividend is paid by
the company, YOU have to pay that dividend so that the owner of the stock
still gets paid.
If you are short the stock at the end of the day before the ex-dividend date
, your broker will automatically deduct the amount of the dividend from your
account on the dividend payment date. (I think it shows up as "payment in
lieu" or something like that since you're not really paying a dividend, but
making a payment to replace the dividend the original owner of the stock was
due but doesn't get because you borrowed their stock and sold it.)
Note that the original owner rarely knows that their stock has been borrowed
and sold by a short seller. Their account still shows them as owning it and
if they decide to sell it, the broker will just borrow someone else's
shares to replace those and the original owner will likely never know.
someone who owns the stock in a margin account and then selling it. So you'
ve sold stock you didn't own and you owe the original owner everything they
would normally get if they still owned the stock. When a dividend is paid by
the company, YOU have to pay that dividend so that the owner of the stock
still gets paid.
If you are short the stock at the end of the day before the ex-dividend date
, your broker will automatically deduct the amount of the dividend from your
account on the dividend payment date. (I think it shows up as "payment in
lieu" or something like that since you're not really paying a dividend, but
making a payment to replace the dividend the original owner of the stock was
due but doesn't get because you borrowed their stock and sold it.)
Note that the original owner rarely knows that their stock has been borrowed
and sold by a short seller. Their account still shows them as owning it and
if they decide to sell it, the broker will just borrow someone else's
shares to replace those and the original owner will likely never know.
