Mark your March diaries with these key dates for red-hot UK dividend shares

March brings full-year results from high-yield UK dividend shares. And it’s not just popular FTSE 100 stocks making the headlines. No, some smaller companies might have passed under an investor’s radar. And I’m seeing some very nice yields.

OSB Group (LSE: OSB) has results due on 5 March. Shareholders in the UK’s big banks might look at Bank of England base rate cuts with trepidation. That’s because they could have a significant impact on their net interest margins and therefore profits.

Strength in agility

OSB is a specialist mortgage lender, and describes itself as “primarily focused on carefully selected sub-segments of the mortgage market such as Buy to Let, Residential, complex commercial and semi-commercial, development finance, bridging and asset finance“.

By being so focused, it can maximise efficiency. It showed in the bank’s first-half results in June, which included a 40.3% cost-to-income ratio. By comparison, Lloyds‘ equivalent was up at 58.6% at the last count.

The smaller and less capital-intense nature of a lender like OSB can also be a weakness. It’s more likely to suffer more during a downturn, as the UK’s challenger banks more recently did.

But there’s an expected 5.6% dividend yield, with analysts predicting progressive annual rises. This could be a good time to consider putting a bit of ISA cash into OSB.

Recovery building steam

The underlying business at ITV (LSE: ITV) looks like it’s getting back on track — though the shares haven’t followed yet. Analysts expect rising earnings and dividends in the next few years. It all starts from 2025 results, also due on 5 March.

In a Q3 trading update in November, ITV told us its “performance for the 9 months to the end of September was better than market expectations“. CEO Carolyn McCall also spoke of “a good performance in a tough advertising market,” telling us “both our businesses are performing well, reflecting the significant transformation we have delivered.”

Looking forward, she said: “We continue to expect to outperform the broadcast advertising market in Q4, and have a strong programme slate for Q4 and into 2026, including the men’s 2026 Football World Cup.“

The advertising market is a fickle one, so there’s always going to be strong competition in that part of ITV’s business. Broadcast content is so often seasonal too. This year there’s the World Cup, but future events coverage is a big unknown.

Still, even with those uncertainties, a 6.2% forecast dividend yield has to make ITV another worth considering for long-term income investors.

Other dates to watch

Investors looking for more dividend shares to consider could do well to keep their eyes open for results from Aberdeen. Due on 2 March, there’s a 6.8% yield on the cards.

Then on 12 March and 16 March respectively, we’ll have the latest from FTSE 100 giants M&G and Phoenix Group Holdings. Forecasts suggest a 6.3% yield from M&G, and 7.1% from Phoenix.

All of these stocks are on my dividend candidates list for 2026.

The post Mark your March diaries with these key dates for red-hot UK dividend shares appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Alan Oscroft has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended ITV and M&g Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.