4 Dividend Stocks With October Payout Deadlines Right Around the Corner
Four dividend stocks have ex-dividend deadlines in the next 48 hours, and one of them stops qualifying at today's close. Yields, earnings coverage, and a few red flags worth knowing before the window shuts.
Four dividend payers go ex-dividend in the next two days. One of them, a Wisconsin bank, go ex on October 8, 2026, so today is the final day to buy and still collect its next payout. The other three go ex on October 9, 2026. Yields on this list range from under 1% to almost 4%, and each section below checks whether earnings cover the dividend.
How the timing works: you have to own shares before the ex-dividend date to get the upcoming payment. If you buy on the ex-date or later, the payment goes to the seller. The pay date is just the day the cash shows up in your account.
Waterstone Financial (WSBF): Today Is the Last Day to Buy
Waterstone Financial (NASDAQ:WSBF) has the most urgent deadline coupled with a real yield. The quarterly dividend is $0.17 per share and goes ex on October 8, 2026, so the shares have to be bought by today’s close. Shareholders get paid on November 2, 2026. At the $19.87 close, the $0.68 annualized dividend works out to a yield of about 3.42%.
Earnings well cover the payout. Second-quarter diluted EPS was $0.49, so the dividend takes roughly 35% of quarterly earnings. Net interest margin expanded 43 bps to 3.03%, and net income grew 9.51% year over year. The dividend has a mixed history, though.
The recurring payout was $0.20 for much of 2021 to 2023 before it fell to $0.15, and it only moved back up to $0.17 this spring. The yield comes alongside a rising share price. The stock is up 23.33% year to date, even after a 7.65% pullback over the past month.
NorthEast Community Bancorp (NECB): Highest Yield, Two Days Left
NorthEast Community Bancorp (NASDAQ:NECB) has the highest yield in the group. The quarterly dividend of $0.25 goes ex on October 9, 2026, so buyers need shares by the close on October 8. Payment follows on November 13, 2026. The $1 annualized rate yields about 3.73% on the $26.78 close.
Second-quarter EPS of $0.72 covers the dividend with about 35% paid out, but that result missed the $0.77 consensus. Net income fell 12.31% and net interest margin contracted 21 bps to 5.14%, so the dividend went up while earnings went down. Credit quality is clean, with zero non-performing loans. Still, unfunded construction commitments above $883 million are a concentration worth tracking.
Science Applications International (SAIC): Tiny Payout, Big Cash Cushion
Science Applications International (NASDAQ:SAIC | SAIC Price Prediction) pays $0.37 per share and goes ex on October 9, 2026, so October 8 is the last day to buy. Shareholders receive payment on October 23, 2026. The yield is about 1.18%, which is low for an income list, but the coverage is excellent.
The $1.48 annual dividend is roughly 17% of trailing EPS of $8.57. On cash flow, the dividend costs about $62 million a year at the current share count, and the fiscal 2027 free cash flow guidance is above $600 million. Second-quarter non-GAAP EPS of $3.01 beat estimates by 30.39%. The catch is that the dividend has been frozen at $0.37 since 2021, with management sending excess cash to buybacks instead.
NetApp (NTAP): The Yield Shrank Because the Stock Ran
NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) goes ex on October 9, 2026 with a $0.52 payment due October 28, 2026. Shares must be bought by October 8 to qualify. The yield is just 0.93%, and that’s because the stock is up 120.36% year to date, the opposite of a yield trap.
The $2.08 annual dividend is about 29% of trailing GAAP EPS of $7.09. First-quarter free cash flow of $401 million compares with a quarterly dividend bill of roughly $102 million. Revenue grew 29.89%, and full-year non-GAAP EPS guidance went up to $9.73 to $10.03. The risk here is valuation. At $232.94, shares sit above the $206.06 consensus target, and any pullback could easily erase a $0.52 payment.
Last Chance to Lock In These Payouts
Buying a stock for one dividend usually doesn’t add value, because share prices typically fall by about the dividend amount when they go ex. These four are worth a look because earnings cover their payouts well (we put the seven warning signs that a big yield is about to be cut in a free dividend trap guide if you want to pressure-test any name on this list). If you’re interested in Waterstone Financial the deadline is today’s close, and the other three cut off at the close on October 8. Let those dates slip by and you will lose this round of payments.
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Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.
His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.
When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.
