These Dividend Stocks Pay This Month but the Ex Dividend Date Is Days Away

Five dividend stocks have an ex-dividend date this Thursday or Friday, and the October calendar puts every one of them on October 15 or October 16, 2026. That leaves buyers two trading sessions at most, so it pays to check whether each payout can last before deciding the payment is worth chasing.

How the deadline works: you must own shares before the ex-dividend date to receive the upcoming payment. Buy on the ex-date or later and the seller keeps it. The pay date is just when the cash shows up in your account.

Capital Southwest (CSWC): Ultra-High-Yield Monthly Income, Buy Deadline Oct. 14

Capital Southwest (NASDAQ:CSWC) pays monthly. Its next regular distribution of $0.1934 goes ex on October 15, 2026, with a listed pay date of October 30. That makes Wednesday, Oct. 14 the last day to buy. At $23.94, the regular annual rate of $2.3208 works out to a 9.69% yield. Counting extra payouts, the forward annualized figure of $3.0408 brings it to 12.70%. That yield comes alongside a rising share price: shares are up 17.29% year to date.

For a BDC, the right test is net investment income (NII), the income left from its loans after expenses. In fiscal Q4, pre-tax NII came to $0.59 per share against a $0.58 regular quarterly dividend. That covers the payout with very little to spare. The loan book looks solid, at 99% first-lien and with non-accruals at just 1.1% of fair value. Interest rates are the concern. The weighted average yield on its debt fell to 10.81% from 11.28%, and management estimates a 75 basis point cut would trim annual NII by about $0.19 per share. Extra payouts would likely be the first casualty. Our earlier look at Capital Southwest’s safety net goes further on that buffer.

City Holding (CHCO): Fresh Dividend Raise, Buy Deadline Oct. 14

City Holding (NASDAQ:CHCO) lifted its quarterly dividend to $1.00 from $0.87, a 14.9% raise. Shares trade ex-dividend on October 15, 2026, with payment on October 30. That $4 annualized rate yields 2.84% at $140.89. The yield is low because the stock is up 20.63% this year.

Even after the raise, the new payout uses only 42.6% of Q2 diluted EPS of $2.35. Net interest margin held at 3.97%, the efficiency ratio improved to 48.1%, and nonperforming assets were just 0.24% of loans and OREO (foreclosed property). The risk to monitor is a commercial real estate downgrade that raised loss provisions. Coverage is strong.

Camden National (CAC): Steady Payer, Buy Deadline Oct. 14

Camden National (NASDAQ:CAC) pays $0.42 per quarter. The ex-dividend date is October 15, 2026, with payment on October 30. The $1.68 annual rate yields 2.99% at $56.16. Shares have climbed 59.75% over the past year, which has pushed the yield down.

The quarterly payout takes just 31.1% of Q2 diluted EPS of $1.35, exceeding the $1.29 consensus. Net income rose 63% year over year, and net charge-offs ran at only 0.04% of loans. Growth is the concern. The dividend has held at $0.42 since 2023, despite plenty of room to raise it.

McGrath RentCorp (MGRC): Long Record, Buy Deadline Oct. 15

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC | MGRC Price Prediction) pays $0.495 per quarter. The ex-dividend date is October 16, 2026, with payment on October 30, so Thursday, Oct. 15 is the deadline. The yield is a thin 1.75% at $112.88. The appeal here is consistency: its dividend history dates back to 1999, with a raise from $0.485 this year.

The dividend uses 36.1% of Q2 diluted EPS of $1.37, which missed the $1.46 consensus as sales revenue fell 34%. Rental demand from data centers lifted TRS-RenTelco revenue 17%, and management raised adjusted EBITDA guidance to $363 million to $375 million. Operating cash flow grew 13.46%. Coverage is comfortable.

Cracker Barrel (CBRL): Coverage Warning, Buy Deadline Oct. 15

Cracker Barrel (NASDAQ:CBRL) pays $0.25 per quarter. The ex-dividend date falls on October 16, 2026, with a later pay date of November 12. That yields 1.70% at $58.90. Shares are up 136.73% year to date but remain down 46.58% over five years, and the dividend was cut from $1.30 to $0.25 in 2024.

This is the shakiest payout on the list. The $1.00 annual dividend matches 125% of fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS of $0.80, the kind of gap we highlighted among the seven warning signs that a big yield is about to be cut. Cash flow looks better: operating cash flow of $206.2 million minus capex leaves about $90.9 million. Total debt also fell to $337.2 million from $484.6 million after a sale-leaseback and the Maple Street divestiture. Management’s fiscal 2027 outlook calls for comparable restaurant sales growth of 3% to 5%. Earnings need to hit that outlook before they support the dividend.

Miss the Ex-Date and the Payment Is Gone

It’s worht noting that buying a stock just to collect one payment rarely works, because share prices typically fall by about the dividend amount on the ex-dividend date. Capital Southwest’s thin NII buffer and Cracker Barrel’s earnings shortfall deserve more weight than one distribution. If you already wanted any of these names for the long term, the deadline still matters: shares bought on or after the ex-dividend date do not get this payment.

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