Dividend Per Share - DPS

The the sum of declared pidends for every ordinary share issued. Dividend per share (DPS) is the total pidends paid out over an entire year (including interim pidends but not including special pidends) pided by the number of outstanding ordinary shares issued.

DPS can be calculated by using the following formula:

D - Sum of pidends over a period (usually 1 year)

SD - Special, one time pidends

S - Shares outstanding for the period

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Taobiz explains Dividend Per Share - DPS

Dividends per share are usually easily found on quote pages as the pidend paid in the most recent quarter which is then used to calculate the pidend yield. Dividends over the entire year (not including any special pidends) must be added together for a proper calculation of DPS, including interim pidends. Special pidends are pidends which are only expected to be issued once so are not included. The total number of ordinary shares outstanding is sometimes calculated using the weighted average over the reporting period.

For example: ABC company paid a total of $237,000 in pidends over the last year of which there was a special one time pidend totalling $59,250. ABC has 2 million shares outstanding so its DPS would be ($237,000-$59,250)/2,000,000 = $0.0889 per share.

Dividends are a form of profit distribution to the shareholder. Having a growing pidend per share can be a sign that the company's management believes that the growth can be sustained.