Acme United (NYSE:ACU) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Acme United (NYSE:ACU) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

Acme United Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of ACU stock opened at $34.61 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.51, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 0.66. Acme United has a 12-month low of $24.28 and a 12-month high of $50.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.25.

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

Acme United Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Acme United’s payout ratio is currently 12.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Brian S. Olschan sold 5,566 shares of Acme United stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.93, for a total value of $238,948.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,103 shares in the company, valued at $1,764,551.79. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Brian S. Olschan sold 5,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.93, for a total value of $238,948.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 41,103 shares in the company, valued at $1,764,551.79. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Brian S. Olschan sold 7,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.33, for a total transaction of $314,574.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,657,683.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,905 shares of company stock worth $658,194. 33.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Acme United by 117.3% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 29,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,400,000 after purchasing an additional 16,128 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in 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. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Acme United by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 142,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,713,000 after acquiring an additional 10,675 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Acme United during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Finally, Evercore Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Acme United during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $219,000. 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.