Why is the Bank of Queensland share price taking a 4% tumble today?

Bank of Queensland's shares are falling for a good reason on Wednesday.

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The Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ) share price has come under pressure on Wednesday morning.

At the time of writing, the regional bank's shares are down 4% to $5.65.

Why is the Bank of Queensland share price tumbling?

The good news for shareholders is that today's weakness has nothing to do with another banking collapse.

In fact, while nobody likes to see a share decline, this one is arguably a positive for shareholders.

That's because today is the day that the bank's shares to trade ex-dividend.

When a share trades ex-dividend, it means that the rights to an upcoming dividend payment are now settled. In light of this, a share will usually decline in line with the dividend to reflect this.

After all, if you were a buyer of its shares today, you wouldn't be entitled to receive this dividend, so why would you pay for it?

The Bank of Queensland dividend

Last month, Bank of Queensland released its half-year results and reported a 4% decline in cash earnings to $256 million. While its earnings were supported by margin tailwinds, a 7% increase in expenses offset this.

As you might expect, this earnings decline led to the Bank of Queensland board cutting its fully franked interim dividend. It came in 9% lower year over year at 20 cents per share.

Though, despite this cut, this still represents an attractive 3.4% yield based on where the Bank of Queensland share price was trading on Tuesday.

Eligible shareholders can now look forward to receiving this dividend in their bank accounts at the very start of next month on 1 June.

And if analysts at Morgans are on the money with their estimates, they can also look forward to another 20 cents per share fully franked dividend later this year when the bank releases its full-year results.

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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