7 Dividend Stocks You Must Buy Immediately to Get Paid in August

David Moadel

Wed, August 5, 2026 at 7:13 PM GMT+3 7 min read

Quick Read

Seven community bank stocks share an August 7 ex-dividend date, among them CWBC and FCBC, requiring share ownership by August 6 to collect the August payment.
WSFS Financial screens the strongest for coverage, with TTM EPS of $5.99 easily backing its $0.80 annualized payout after raising its dividend from $0.17 to $0.20.
Community West Bancshares' GAAP EPS of ~$0.10 is distorted by merger charges; its non-GAAP earnings of ~$0.45 actually cover the $0.48 annualized dividend.
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Here's an alert for income investors with a quick deadline. Seven small-bank dividend stocks all share the same imminent ex-dividend date: Friday, August 7. To collect the August payout on any of them, shares must be owned by the close of Thursday, August 6. Buy on the ex-date or later, and the payment goes to the seller.

Michail Petrov / Shutterstock.com

Here are the dividend mechanics in plain terms: the ex-dividend date is the eligibility cutoff, so own before it, get paid; buy on it, don't. Because a stock typically opens lower by an amount close to the dividend on the ex-date, this is about eligibility for a scheduled payment, not free money. These are modest-yield community banks, so the story here is timing and coverage, not yield chasing.

Community West Bancshares

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) pays a $0.12 quarterly dividend ($0.48 annualized) with an ex-date of August 7, a buy-by date of August 6, and a payment date of August 21. The trailing yield sits at 1.9%. Coverage is the tricky part: CWBC's most recent GAAP EPS was heavily distorted by one-time charges tied to the United Security Bancshares merger, printing near $0.10 on a GAAP basis versus about $0.45 non-GAAP, with nonperforming assets and loan-loss provisions moving up, so read the payout coverage on the underlying, not the headline.

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Community West Bancshares is a California community bank headquartered in Fresno, and the merger with United Security Bancshares closed in April. Community West Bancshares stock trades at $25.71, with a trailing P/E ratio of 14.5x and forward P/E of 9.42x. Merger noise should fade over the next two quarters, but the coverage read deserves care in the meantime.

First Bank (FRBA)

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) pays a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share ($0.36 annualized), and the clock works the same as the rest of this list: the ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7, so shares must be owned by the close of Thursday, August 6, with payment following on August 21. First Bank raised the quarterly payout to $0.09 from $0.06 earlier in 2026, a signal of management confidence rather than a stretch. Coverage looks comfortable, since the $0.36 annualized dividend is a small slice of First Bank's trailing EPS of $1.70, and the listed yield sits around 1.6%.

First Bank is a Hamilton, New Jersey regional bank serving individuals, businesses, and government entities across the Mid-Atlantic. First Bank stock trades at a trailing P/E ratio of 10.99x (a forward P/E ratio of 8.34x) and roughly in line with book value of $18.31 per share, with a low beta of 0.53 that fits its steady community-bank profile. The most recent quarter delivered EPS of $0.43, ahead of the $0.40 estimate, and the shares carry an analyst target of $19.67.

First Community Bankshares

First Community Bankshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) recently raised the payout from $0.31 to $0.33 quarterly ($1.32 annualized), with an ex-date of August 7, buy-by August 6, and payment on August 21. The yield stands at 2.6%. Against TTM EPS of $3.22, the payout is well-covered on a corporate EPS basis.

First Community Bankshares is a Virginia-based regional bank with uninterrupted quarterly payments dating back over 25 years. First Community Bankshares stock trades at $48.23, up 52% year to date (YTD). That price appreciation is doing much of the work on yield compression, so the increase to $0.33 helps offset it for income holders.

Franklin Financial Services

Franklin Financial Services (NASDAQ:FRAF) declared a $0.34 quarterly dividend ($1.36 annualized), ex-date August 7, buy-by August 6, payable August 26. The yield is 2.1%. With TTM EPS at $5.48, coverage is very comfortable on a corporate EPS basis.

Franklin Financial Services is a Pennsylvania community bank headquartered in Chambersburg, with a multi-decade record of consistent quarterly dividend growth. Franklin Financial Services stock changes hands at $63.40. The single risk flag investors can watch for is a rise in commercial real estate nonperforming loans reported earlier in the year.

FS Bancorp

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW) pays a $0.29 quarterly dividend ($1.16 annualized), ex-date August 7, buy-by August 6, payment August 21, with a yield of 2.7%. Against TTM EPS of $4.37, the payout is easily covered, and this marks the 54th consecutive quarterly dividend.

FS Bancorp is the holding company for 1st Security Bank of Washington, headquartered in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. FS Bancorp stock trades at $42.70 with a trailing P/E ratio of 9.84x. Recent credit costs, including a $2.3 million charge-off on a commercial construction loan, are worth monitoring alongside the pending Pacific West Bank deal.

Primis Financial

Primis Financial (NASDAQ:FRST) offers a $0.10 quarterly dividend ($0.40 annualized), ex-date August 7, buy-by August 6, payable August 21. The yield is 2.5%. Against TTM EPS of $2.16, the current-quarter payout is well-covered, though core net charge-offs picked up year over year (YoY) and a large office commercial real estate (CRE) loan required a specific reserve last quarter.

Primis Financial is a Virginia-based community bank headquartered in McLean. Primis Financial stock sits at $16.34, with a trailing P/E ratio of 7.59x. Analyst coverage skews positive with one strong buy and three buys and a target price of $18.62.

WSFS Financial

WSFS Financial (NASDAQ:WSFS) declared a $0.20 quarterly dividend ($0.80 annualized), ex-date August 7, buy-by August 6, payment August 21. The yield is 0.9%, the lowest of the group, but coverage is the strongest: TTM EPS of $5.99 against a $0.71 trailing dividend per share leaves substantial room, and the recent step up from $0.17 to $0.20 signals confidence.

WSFS Financial is the Delaware-based parent of WSFS Bank and Bryn Mawr Trust, and it's the largest name in this batch at a market cap around $4.21 billion. WSFS Financial stock trades at $82.10, up 49% YTD, and management raised full-year guidance including an ROA target of 1.5%+. WSFS Financial also repurchased $66.2 million of shares in Q2 2026, complementing the dividend.

The August 7 Deadline

All seven names share the same eligibility cutoff. You can own shares by the close of Thursday, August 6 to collect the August payment; buying on Friday, August 7 or later means the seller keeps that payout. Miss the ex-date, miss the payment, with no second chance until the next declaration.

Chasing one quarterly payment isn't a viable strategy; what matters here is whether the earnings comfortably cover the payout across cycles, which is why WSFS, FRBA, and FCBC screen the cleanest, FRAF and FSBW hold up on trailing EPS, and CWBC requires investors to look through merger charges. Thus, to maintain a sensible income-investment strategy with these seven stocks, consider coverage first, timing second.