FIZ-Special dividend in Jan

[TripleBuy]

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.asp?Symbol=US:FIZ&Feed=BW&Date=20051223&ID=5378592

If you're in by Jan 5th, you will recieve the payout on Jan 27th.

Stock has made a big move since Dec 19th. Maybe a short canadate after the dividend?

[stockviper]

Nice find TripleBuy! Looks like the normal trading range is between $7.00 and $7.75 for the last three months so your short idea isn't totally out of the question but then again my logic tells me if a company is willing to offer a nice dividend they are making money, sometimes unexpectedly. It could go either way. Good luck if you short. I'd buy a few days before, take the dividend and place a tight stop the next day.

[pmb1010]

This sounds like a great idea (at first) so I did a search and found this...
Comments?


Why don't investors buy stock just before the dividend date and then sell right afterwards?

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Many years ago, unscrupulous brokers would use the same logic on their clients as a sleazy sales tactic. These brokers would tell a customer to purchase shares in a particular investment that would supposedly offer profits from an upcoming dividend.

In theory this may seem like a sound investment strategy, but it is nothing more than an illegal marketing scheme. For example, if Company A is trading at $20 a share and is about to offer a $1 dividend and you hurry to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, you would receive the dividend and make an easy 5% return.

In actuality, however, the company's stock price would decrease on the ex-dividend date by about the same amount of the dividend to eliminate this form of arbitrage. So, if you purchased A stock before the ex-dividend date you would get the $1 cash dividend, but this would be offset by the simultaneous $1 drop in the stock price. Thus, buying a stock before a dividend is paid and selling after it is received has absolutely no value except a partial return of the capital invested in the stock in the first place.
To make things worse, dividends create a tax liability, meaning you'll have to claim the dividends as taxable income on the following year's income tax return. Waiting to purchase the stock until after the dividend payment may be a better strategy because it allows you to purchase the stock at a lower price without incurring taxes.

[TripleBuy]

If you are convinced that the stock will drop in price after the dividend is paid, you can hedge by shorting an equal number of shares.

[stockviper]

I'm not sure but if the $1.00 dividend is payable to shareholders on record as of 1/5 don't you need to buy it today considering the 3 day turnaround time to close the transaction? It's currently at $9.75 as I write this but with the New Years holiday the market will be closed Monday.

Vector vest rates FIZ a buy and from what I can tell the company has no debt.

If anyone can clarify the 3 day time frame, please do.

Happy New Year!