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

Acme United Co. (NYSE:ACU) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, September 24th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th.

Acme United has increased 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% 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 traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $41.72. 20,214 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,516. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.08. The firm has a market cap of $152.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.31 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. Acme United has a 1-year low of $26.32 and a 1-year high of $50.99.

Acme United (NYSE:ACU) last posted 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 analysts’ expectations of $56.50 million. Acme United had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 10.09%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Acme United will post 2.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Singular Research raised Acme United from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of 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 Acme United news, COO Brian S. Olschan sold 3,149 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.88, for a total transaction of $128,731.12. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,103 shares in the company, valued at $1,680,290.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 34.10% of the stock is 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.