Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLR) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.20 Per Share

Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLR) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 6th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of 0.20 per share by the auto parts company on Monday, March 24th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a 5.3% increase from Miller Industries’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19.

Miller Industries has raised its dividend payment by an average of 1.8% annually over the last three years. Miller Industries has a payout ratio of 10.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Miller Industries to earn $5.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.8%.

Miller Industries Stock Down 14.8 %

MLR traded down $8.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $46.73. 559,958 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 84,745. Miller Industries has a 1 year low of $41.24 and a 1 year high of $78.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $534.51 million, a PE ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on MLR shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Miller Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Miller Industries in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

About Miller Industries

Miller Industries, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells towing and recovery equipment. The company offers wreckers that are used to recover and tow disabled vehicles and other equipment; and car carriers, which are specialized flat-bed vehicles with hydraulic tilt mechanisms, which are used to transport new or disabled vehicles and other equipment.