Five dividends are about to close their payout windows. Arrow Financial (NASDAQ:AROW), Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE), PC Connection (NASDAQ:CNXN), and Willis Lease Finance (NASDAQ:WLFC) all go ex-dividend on August 11, 2026, while Columbia Financial (NASDAQ:CLBK) reaches its cutoff one day later, on August 12. To collect these payments, investors must purchase the shares no later than August 10 for the first four companies and August 11 for Columbia Financial.
A quick mechanics refresher: If you own the shares at the close of trading on the business day before the ex-dividend date, you receive the upcoming payment. Buy on or after the ex-date, and the seller keeps it. The payment date is simply when the cash hits your account, which happens later in the month.
Arrow Financial (AROW)
Arrow, a regional bank based in Glens Falls, New York, will pay $0.30 per share on August 25. At $1.20 annualized, the dividend yields roughly 2.96%. The ex-date is August 11, making August 10 the last day to buy shares and collect this payment.
Coverage looks comfortable. Arrow Financial’s Q2 2026 GAAP EPS was $0.66, while Q1 EPS was $0.82 and full-year 2025 EPS reached $2.65, putting the payout ratio at roughly 37% to 46% based on recent earnings. The Q2 miss was driven by a $1.60 million specific reserve tied to a single nonperforming Albany commercial loan, not wider deterioration across the portfolio. The Adirondack Bancorp acquisition closed July 1, 2026, bringing approximately $1 billion in additional assets.
Cheesecake Factory (CAKE)
Cheesecake Factory pays $0.30 per share on August 25, with an ex-date of August 11. That puts the forward annualized dividend at $1.20 and the yield at roughly 1.08%. Management raised the quarterly payout from $0.27 to $0.30 beginning in 2026.
The dividend is comfortably covered. Trailing adjusted EPS stands at $3.69, while Cheesecake Factory brand comparable sales rose 5.8% year over year in Q2. The tradeoff is valuation. The stock has run hard, gaining 40.1% in the past month and 113.4% year to date, so the dividend yield is modest while a trailing P/E near 29 leaves little room for disappointment.
PC Connection (CNXN)
PC Connection, an IT solutions distributor, will pay $0.20 per share on August 28. That works out to a forward annualized dividend of $0.80 and a yield just under 1%. The ex-date is August 11.
Coverage is ample. Q2 EPS was $1.31 against a $0.20 quarterly payout, and the dividend has climbed from $0.08 in 2023 to $0.20 in 2026. AI infrastructure demand helped lift revenue across both Enterprise Solutions and Business Solutions during the quarter. One caveat is cash generation. Q2 operating cash flow swung to negative $63.8 million amid working-capital swings, so investors should watch how effectively earnings convert into cash during the second half of 2026.
Willis Lease Finance (WLFC)
Willis Lease Finance, an aircraft engine lessor, will pay $0.133 per share on August 21, with an ex-date of August 11. The payment may appear smaller than the previous three quarterly dividends of $0.40, but the difference reflects the company’s 3-for-1 stock split. On a split-adjusted basis, the economics are essentially the same. The indicated forward yield is only about 0.6%.
EPS coverage remains strong. Willis Lease’s Q2 2026 diluted EPS was $1.31, beating the $0.90 consensus estimate, while Willis Aviation Capital’s assets under management reached $4.4 billion. Shares are down 18.46% over the past month, which has mechanically lifted the yield somewhat. Even after that decline, however, the payout remains small relative to the share price, making the dividend a supplement to the investment case, not its centerpiece.
Columbia Financial (CLBK)
Columbia (Nasdaq: CLBK) is the outlier because it is kicking off its first quarterly dividend. Its ex-date is August 12, 2026, with a payment of $0.05 per share on August 26. If the quarterly payment continues, it implies an annualized dividend of $0.20. The declaration followed the July 20 completion of Columbia’s second-step conversion and acquisition of Northfield Bancorp, although the company did not explicitly attribute the dividend to those transactions.
Coverage appears manageable. Q2 2026 GAAP EPS was $0.14, with core EPS of $0.15, while net interest margin expanded to 2.44%. That puts the inaugural $0.05 payout at roughly 36% of GAAP earnings. Treat the forward yield with care because Columbia has not yet established a dividend track record. Credit quality also bears watching, with nonperforming loans rising to 0.51% of gross loans from 0.46% at year-end 2025.
The Bottom Line
Chasing one dividend is not a portfolio strategy, and the total return math after the ex-date drop rarely favors buying purely for the payment. If any of these businesses already fit your process, the calendar simply tells you when to be in the seat. Miss August 10, or August 11 for CLBK, and the next check has to wait for a future declaration that may or may not come.
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