Acme United (NYSE:ACU) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Acme United (NYSE:ACU) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Acme United Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Acme United stock opened at $36.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.85. The company has a market cap of $131.87 million, a P/E ratio of 7.51 and a beta of 0.66. Acme United has a fifty-two week low of $24.50 and a fifty-two week high of $50.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 4.51.

Acme United (NYSE:ACU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 19th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $44.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.50 million. Acme United had a net margin of 9.67% and a return on equity of 9.60%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Acme United will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acme United Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Acme United’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Brian S. Olschan sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $49,125.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,656,450.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Brian S. Olschan sold 1,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.08, for a total transaction of $55,545.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,729,614.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian S. Olschan sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $49,125.70. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,656,450.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,905 shares of company stock worth $658,194 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 34.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Acme United

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Evercore Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Acme United during the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Acme United in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Acme United by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 14,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 2,204 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Acme United by 71.0% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 26,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,257,000 after buying an additional 11,113 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Acme United by 117.3% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 29,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,400,000 after buying an additional 16,128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.10% of the company’s stock.

About Acme United

Acme United Corporation supplies cutting, measuring, first aid, and sharpening products to the school, home, office, hardware, sporting goods, and industrial markets in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company offers scissors, shears, knives, rulers, pencil sharpeners, paper trimmers, safety cutters, lettering products, glue guns, and other craft products under the Westcott brand name; and cutting tools under the Clauss brand.