I haven't looked at it, but check whether it is some type of one-off special dividend, perhaps tied to a transaction, like a divestiture or whatever. As such, the 18% would only apply to immediate history, not what current shareholders could expect to receive.
"Fording (nyse: FDG - news - people )distributes most of the income it receives from its mining interests as dividends to unit-holders. Based on annualizing the most recent payout, Fording yields 17.3%. But if you figure yield by totaling the past 12 months of payouts, the stock yields a lower 7.5%. Fordingâs payout ratio is 48%" http://www.forbes.com/investmentnew...o-in_jd_1108gurusow_inl.html?partner=yahootix