Methode Electronics, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.14 (NYSE:MEI)

Methode Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:MEI) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, December 13th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of 0.14 per share by the electronics maker on Friday, January 31st. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th.

Methode Electronics has increased its dividend payment by an average of 8.4% annually over the last three years. Methode Electronics has a dividend payout ratio of 90.3% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Equities research analysts expect Methode Electronics to earn $0.37 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 151.4%.

Methode Electronics Stock Performance

MEI traded down $0.05 on Friday, hitting $13.07. 388,999 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 533,846. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $10.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.84. Methode Electronics has a twelve month low of $8.54 and a twelve month high of $23.41. The firm has a market cap of $460.59 million, a PE ratio of -5.17 and a beta of 0.81.

Methode Electronics (NYSE:MEI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The electronics maker reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.31. Methode Electronics had a negative return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 8.16%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.06 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Methode Electronics will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Methode Electronics

In related news, Director Mary A. Lindsey bought 8,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.38 per share, for a total transaction of $100,144.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 25,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $295,538.60. This represents a 51.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David P. Blom purchased 9,320 shares of Methode Electronics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $10.81 per share, with a total value of $100,749.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $405,710.11. The trade was a 33.04 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Methode Electronics from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Methode Electronics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th.

Methode Electronics Company Profile

Methode Electronics, Inc designs, engineers, and produces mechatronic products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Automotive, Industrial, Interface, and Medical. The Automotive segment supplies electronic and electro-mechanical devices, and related products to automobile original equipment manufacturers directly or through their tiered suppliers.