This week is a payday cluster. Ten names in this coverage list all go ex-dividend between Tuesday, July 28 and Friday, July 31, 2026, which means the window to buy in and still capture the upcoming payment is short. To receive one of these dividends, you must own the shares before the ex-dividend date. Miss the ex-date and you miss the payment; the pay date that follows is just the plumbing.
Under T+1 settlement, the last day to buy is the trading day before the ex-date. We group the ten names by that deadline. Yields are quoted from vendor data and move with price; K-1 partnerships and monthly-paying mortgage REITs are flagged so income readers know the structure.
Last Day to Buy: Monday, July 27
Paychex (PAYX)
Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX | PAYX Price Prediction) goes ex-dividend Tuesday, July 28, 2026, paying $1.19 per share on August 28, 2026. The annualized run rate is $4.76, following a 10.2% quarterly increase earlier in 2026.
Coverage looks comfortable: fiscal 2026 EPS was reported against the raised payout, and management guided to mid-to-high single digit FY27 adjusted EPS growth. Trailing P/E is 23.
Fastenal (FAST)
Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) also trades ex-dividend on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, with a payment of $0.26 per share on August 25, 2026 and an indicated annual dividend of $0.96.
The coverage read is the wrinkle. Diluted TTM EPS is $1.17, so the payout consumes a meaningful share of earnings, and the stock trades at a rich 38x trailing earnings. Balance-sheet quality remains high, with 34.3% return on equity.
Last Day to Buy: Wednesday, July 29
Constellation Brands (STZ)
Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) goes ex-dividend Thursday, July 30, 2026, with a $1.03 payment on August 13, 2026. Yield sits at 3.04%.
Coverage is not an issue: TTM EPS of $10.20 against an annualized $4.09 dividend leaves cushion, and the shares change hands at 13x trailing earnings. The elevated yield partly reflects a weaker stock, with STZ well below its $172.67 52-week high.
Last Day to Buy: Thursday, July 30
Seven names go ex on Friday, July 31, so Thursday, July 30 is the buy-by deadline for all of them.
AGNC Investment (AGNC)
AGNC Investment (NASDAQ:AGNC), a monthly-paying mortgage REIT, pays $0.12 per share on August 11, 2026, ex-date July 31, 2026. The trailing yield is 13.2%.
The right coverage lens for an mREIT is earnings available for distribution and net interest spread, not GAAP EPS. Management has pointed to a solid quarterly net interest spread, a positive economic return for the quarter, and a stable tangible book value per share. The $0.12 monthly rate has held since 2020, but this yield is high because the price is low, and book-value volatility is the real risk to income durability.
Alliant Energy (LNT)
Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) trades ex-dividend July 31, 2026, paying $0.535 on August 17, 2026. Yield is 2.78%.
Coverage is clean. FY26 ongoing EPS guidance comfortably supports the $2.14 annualized dividend, and the regulated-utility model tends to underwrite payout stability.
Casey’s General Stores (CASY)
Casey’s General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) has an ex-date of July 31, 2026, paying $0.65 on August 14, 2026. The company just raised the quarterly rate, extending its long run of consecutive annual increases.
Yield is a slim 0.26%, so this is a dividend-growth story rather than an income name. TTM EPS of $18.97 against a $2.28 annual payout leaves ample coverage.
Plains All American Pipeline (PAA) and Plains GP Holdings (PAGP)
Both partnerships go ex-distribution July 31, 2026, paying $0.4175 per unit on August 14, 2026. Plains All American Pipeline (NASDAQ:PAA) trades at a 6.68% yield; Plains GP Holdings (NASDAQ:PAGP) at an annualized $1.67 pays a similar rate. PAA issues a K-1; PAGP is structured to issue a 1099.
The right coverage base is distributable cash flow. FY26 adjusted free cash flow guidance supports the payout, and the distribution was raised again this year from $0.38. Coverage looks solid for now, though midstream cash flows carry commodity-linked volume risk.
Texas Instruments (TXN)
Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) pays $1.42 on August 11, 2026, ex-date July 31, 2026. Yield is 1.96%.
TTM EPS of $6.00 covers the $5.56 annual payout thinly, and TXN is in a heavy capex phase; free cash flow, not GAAP earnings, is the truer read here. Q2 guidance calls for sequential EPS improvement.
Morgan Stanley (MS)
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) goes ex-dividend July 31, 2026, paying $1.15 on August 14, 2026, a 15% increase from the prior quarter. Yield is 1.97%.
Coverage is strong. TTM EPS is $12.70, with a solid recent-quarter print, healthy ROTCE, and a sizeable share buyback reauthorization.
The Bottom Line
Chasing a single ex-dividend date is a scheduling exercise, not a strategy. The stock trades lower by roughly the payment amount on the ex-date, so the dividend is a transfer of value, not a creation of it. What matters is whether the cash flow behind the payout is durable, and the answer here varies by name. Miss the ex-date and you miss the payment, so if any of these fit your existing income framework, the buy-by deadlines above are the ones that count this week.
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