There are two roads to riches in the stock market. One is capital gains. This is the difference between the price at which you buy and the price at which you sell. The other way to make money in stocks is through dividends. A dividend is the quarterly cash payout from a company's earnings.
Companies can raise, lower or eliminate their dividends at any time.
If you buy the stock, you'll make 2.4 percent just for holding it. I know 2 percent seems like chump change compared to the 20 percent annual returns investors have enjoyed over the past few years, but don't dis dividends just yet. Over time, the stock market has returned about 11 percent. Take dividends out of that mix, however, and the return sinks to a sucky 6.2 percent. Buy low, sell high.