When investing in dividend stocks, you should understand the language used.
I've combed tons of acronyms that get thrown around the internet or financial reports, and picked the handful I believe are most useful up front.
Understanding these, you'll be better able to read and talk about dividends in an informed way.
DPS - Dividend Per Share
Dividend Per Share is simply how much dividend is being paid for each share.
Why it's important: It tells you exactly what you will get for each share you own (pre-tax).
Dividend Yield
ok, not an acronym, but important. It's the annual dividend per share divided by the stock price. Expressed as a %.
Why it's important: It tells you about the returns on your investment for this share. *Don't judge a stock on yield alone!
TTM - Trailing Twelve Month
Regarding dividends, it refers to the dividends paid per share over the last 12 months.
Why it's important: Many companies don't pay a single annual dividend, so this is useful for calculating yield for the past year.
DPR - Dividend Payout Ratio
Dividend Payout Ratio is the proportion of the companies earnings paid out as dividends. Expressed as a %.
Why it's important: It gives you a sense of how sustainable the dividend is. A low Payout Ratio means the company is paying out less of it's earnings, all things equal, is a better signal for dividend sustainability than a high payout ratio.
EPS - Earnings Per Share
EPS is the company's net income divided by the number of outstanding common shares.
Why it's important: It's a useful value for assessing profitability of the company, and can be used to calculate the payout ratio. DPR = DPS/EPS.
Now that you understand these terms, you can feel more confident talking about and assessing dividend investment opportunities.