[whoomp12342]

a dividend is a payout of the companies earnings. rather, the portion the company has chosen not to spend on itself. That amount is divide up by how much % you own in the company. If you owned 50% of all the stock, you would directly receive 50% of their profits less re-investing come dividend time

the stock price is how much people are willing to pay for purchase said stock.(consider market share when looking at price, because 2 stocks at $5.2 is the same thing as 1 stock at $10.5)

so yes, from your gains perspective it is the same thing but the source of where the increase in your portfolio is entirely different