Top 3 ASX dividend shares to buy before they go ex-dividend

ASX dividend shares are about to deliver one of the biggest income weeks of the year.

Reporting season closed on Monday, and final dividends declared through August are now flowing.

Eleven ASX 200 names go ex-dividend this week alone.

Miss an ex-dividend date by a single day, and you miss the payment entirely.

With that in mind, here are three worth knowing about.

Why these ASX dividend shares are worth the timing

Energy and resources did the heavy lifting for income investors in FY26.

Utilities shares paid an average yield of 5.98% across the year, with energy at 5.14% and materials at 4.63%.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) averaged 4.23%.

All three companies below are in that first group, and each has lifted its payout on the back of strong commodity prices.

1. Origin Energy: Ex-dividend Wednesday

Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) is the first of the three we’ll discuss.

The company’s shares trade ex-dividend on 2 September, so you need to own them before today’s close.

The company declared a fully-franked final dividend of 30 cents per share, taking FY26 distributions to 60 cents, with payment landing on 2 October.

The FY26 result was a mixed one.

Statutory profit rose to $1,574 million, but underlying profit fell to $1,159 million from $1,490 million a year earlier.

The far more encouraging number was adjusted free cash flow, which jumped to $2,074 million from $1,207 million.

Chief executive Frank Calabria pointed to the build-out behind that cash.

Our portfolio is increasingly well positioned for a changing energy market, with new battery capacity brought into commercial operation on time and on budget.

2. Woodside Energy: Ex-dividend Thursday

Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) goes ex-dividend on 3 September, with payment on 25 September.

The interim dividend is 57 US cents per share, fully franked, or roughly 79.5 Australian cents, which represents an 80% payout ratio and a yield of about 5.9%.

Woodside’s half-year numbers were solid.

Operating revenue rose 13% to US$7,446 million, net profit after tax climbed 27% to US$1,672 million, and free cash flow more than doubled to US$352 million.

Production actually fell 13% to 86.5 million barrels of oil equivalent, held back by planned maintenance and cyclone disruption.

The larger story is the company’s Scarborough project, now 98% complete and on track for its first LNG cargo in the fourth quarter of 2026.

One caution for income investors: the dividend reinvestment plan remains suspended.

3. Ampol: The monster payout

Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD) is the biggest cheque of the three by a wide margin.

The fuel retailer and refiner declared an interim dividend of $1.85 per share, fully franked, up 362.5% on last year’s equivalent payment.

The company’s shares trade ex-dividend on 4 September, with money arriving on 30 September.

The driver was an extraordinary refining result.

Group earnings rose 152% to $1.64 billion, and net profit excluding significant items jumped 376% to $857 million, while statutory profit of $1.36 billion compared with a $25 million loss a year earlier.

The forward yield sits near 6%, and Ampol does not offer a dividend reinvestment plan either.

Refining margins are deeply cyclical, and this half was helped enormously by conflict-driven disruption to global supply.

The catch with buying ASX dividend shares this way

Buying purely to capture a payment rarely works as neatly as it looks on paper.

Share prices typically fall by roughly the dividend amount on the ex-dividend date.

You are moving money from one pocket to another and paying tax on the way through, and while franking credits soften that, they do not eliminate it.

The strategy makes far more sense when you wanted to own the business anyway.

Foolish takeaway

I would not buy any of these three purely to collect a cheque three weeks from now.

Ampol offers the largest payment and the most cyclical earnings behind it.

Woodside has the clearest growth catalyst in Scarborough.

Origin has the weakest earnings momentum but the most improved cash flow.

For income investors, ASX dividend shares will be doing a great deal of the heavy lifting this month.

The post Top 3 ASX dividend shares to buy before they go ex-dividend appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Chasing dividends? 11 ASX shares in top-paying sectors going ex-dividend this week
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 2 ASX dividend shares I’d buy right now for passive income
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

Motley Fool contributor Mark Verhoeven 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.