Suppose:

The spot price of stock is $$100.$ $$3$ Dividend at the end of Month $3.$

The $12-$month forward price is US $$100.$

The $1-$year US$ interest rate is $5\%$ per annum $($continuously

compounded$).$

Question:

$1.$Why are we buying a long forward contract? Isn't the spot price and forward price the same?

$2.$If we are buying a long forward contract, why do we short the stock?