Acme United Co. (NYSE:ACU) to Issue $0.15 Quarterly Dividend

Acme United Co. (NYSE:ACU) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, September 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share on Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th.

Acme United has raised its dividend by an average of 5.3% per year over the last three years. Acme United has a dividend payout ratio of 26.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Acme United to earn $2.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.4%.

Acme United Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ACU opened at $41.43 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $151.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.63 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.14. Acme United has a 52-week low of $26.32 and a 52-week high of $50.99.

Acme United (NYSE:ACU) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 19th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. Acme United had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 10.09%. The firm had revenue of $55.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.50 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Acme United will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Acme United

In other Acme United news, COO Brian S. Olschan sold 3,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $128,731.12. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 41,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,680,290.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 34.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Singular Research raised Acme United from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Acme United from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 20th.

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.