Dividend yield calculator — yield on price and income from your shares

How to use the dividend yield calculator

1. Enter the Annual dividend per share: the total paid per share over a year.
2. Enter the Current share price.
3. Enter the number of Shares held (use 1 if you only want the yield).
4. Choose the Currency.
5. Read Dividend yield, Yearly dividend income, Holding value and Monthly equivalent.

What it does and when to use it

A dividend is cash a company pays out of its profit to its shareholders. On its own, a ₹10 dividend says little; it is generous on a ₹100 share and small on a ₹1,000 share. The dividend yield turns it into a percentage of the price, so you can compare shares with each other, or with the interest on a deposit.

People living off investment income also want the money figure: how much will my shares pay me this year? With the number of shares entered, the calculator shows that and a monthly equivalent for budgeting, although real dividends arrive on the company’s schedule, not monthly.

Yield is only half of a share’s return; the change in the share price is the other half. To combine both over the time you held a share, use the annualised return calculator, which has a field for income received. To see whether a dividend is well covered by profits, the dividend payout ratio calculator compares it with earnings, and the P/E ratio calculator shows how the price compares with those earnings.

How it works

• Dividend yield = annual dividend per share ÷ current share price × 100
• Yearly dividend income = dividend per share × shares held
• Holding value = share price × shares held
• Monthly equivalent = yearly income ÷ 12

The price must be above zero, since a yield cannot be worked out on a zero price.

Worked examples

These figures come from the calculator’s own function.

An Indian share. Dividend ₹10 a year, price ₹200, 100 shares. Dividend yield 5%, yearly dividend income ₹1,000.00, holding value ₹20,000.00, monthly equivalent ₹83.33.

A US share. Dividend $2.40 a year, price $80, 50 shares. Dividend yield 3%, yearly income $120.00, holding value $4,000.00 and a monthly equivalent of $10.00.

Note that the same 5% yield on ₹20,000 and on ₹2,00,000 gives very different incomes; the yield tells you the rate, the shares held tell you the amount.

Limits and tips

• Trailing versus expected. Using last year’s dividends gives a trailing yield. A company’s announced future dividend gives a forward yield. Say which one you used when comparing.
• The price moves daily, and so does the yield.
• Gross, before tax and fees.
• High yield needs a closer look. Check whether earnings cover the dividend before relying on it.
• Calculated in your browser.