Dividend payment dates, as well as the ex-dividend dates that preceded them, ebb and flow on the ASX just like the tides. There are some weeks, usually just after earnings season when it seems that every company under the Australian sun is paying out a dividend. In other weeks, it's a veritable income desert on the Australian share market.
Luckily, next week is an example of the former.
Whenever an ASX share announces a dividend payment, it must also nominate an ex-dividend date for that payment. This 'ex-div' date is when a line is drawn in the sand between those shareholders who are eligible to receive the payment, and those who will miss out.
Put simply, if you wish to receive a company's latest dividend, you need to own the shares at least one day before the ex-dividend date. If you buy those shares on or after that date, you will miss out on the payment, with the seller retaining the rights to the cash.
As we noted above, there are quite a few ASX shares set to trade ex-dividend on the stock market next week. But today, let's go through no fewer than nine popular real estate investment trusts (REITs) that are in line to fork out their latest dividends (dividend distributions, to be precise).
Before we get right into it, it's worth remembering that dividend distributions from REITs rarely come with any franking credits attached. That's due to their unique composition, which prevents them from paying corporate taxes (from which franking credits are generated) like companies do.
With that out of the way, here are the nine popular ASX REITs with ex-dividend dates set for next week:
Nine ASX income stocks set to trade ex-dividend next week
| ASX REIT | Distribution per unit | Ex-distribution date | Dividend payday | Dividend yield* |
| Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF) | 2.9 cents | 27 June | 31 July | 5.72% |
| Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP) | 4 cents | 27 June | 7 August | 5.16% |
| Centuria Office REIT (ASX: COF) | 3 cents | 27 June | 16 August | 10.08% |
| HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (ASX: HDN) | 2.1 cents | 27 June | 22 August | 5.29% |
| Arena REIT (ASX: ARF) | 4.3 cents | 27 June | 8 August | 3.81% |
| Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW) | 6.5 cents | 27 June | 14 August | 7.49% |
| Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT (ASX: CQE) | 4 cents | 27 June | 19 July | 6.61% |
| Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR) | 6 cents | 27 June | 29 August | 5.04% |
| Abacus Storage King (ASX: ASK) | 3 cents | 28 June | 30 August | 5.11% |
*Dividend yield as of Thursday's close
Foolish takeaway
Those are the nine popular REITs scheduled to trade ex-dividend next week.
All of these REITs currently have relatively large trailing dividend distribution yields. As such, we might see some fairly large share price drops when each of them goes 'ex-div'. That will reflect the hefty loss of value for new investors when this eligibility window closes.
So if you see any of these ASX REITs drop like a rock next week, you'll probably know why.
