2. A symbol used in stock transaction tables found on the internet and in newspapers to indicate that a stock is trading ex-dividends or ex-rights.
1. Nasdaq-listed securities have four or five characters. If a fifth letter appears, it identifies the issue as other than a single issue of common stock or capital stock.
2. Typically after a dividend is paid or a right is distributed, a stock's price will drop by a similar amount. Because of this, it's important for investors to be aware of when a distribution is made so that the depreciation in price is not mistaken for something else.
Investment dictionary. Academic. 2012.