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

Acme United Co. (NYSE:ACU) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, September 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid 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 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th.

Acme United has increased its dividend by an average of 5.3% annually over the last three years. Acme United has a dividend payout ratio of 26.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 Performance

Shares of NYSE ACU opened at $42.54 on Thursday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $41.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.16. Acme United has a 52-week low of $26.32 and a 52-week high of $50.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.78 million, a P/E ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ACU. Singular Research upgraded shares of Acme United from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report 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.

Insider Activity at Acme United

In other news, COO Brian S. Olschan sold 3,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total value of $128,731.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,680,290.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 34.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.