Critical Review: Acme United (ACU) versus Its Peers

Acme United (NYSE:ACU) is one of 516 public companies in the “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Acme United to related businesses based on the strength of its risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

62.1% of Acme United shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.9% of shares of all “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” companies are owned by institutional investors. 29.5% of Acme United shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.8% of shares of all “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Acme United and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Acme United	0	0	0	1	4.00
Acme United Competitors	4178	10245	17855	789	2.46

As a group, “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” companies have a potential upside of 26.64%. Given Acme United’s rivals higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Acme United has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Dividends

Acme United pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Acme United pays out 26.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.3% and pay out 52.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Acme United has raised its dividend for 20 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Acme United and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Acme United	10.25%	9.70%	6.10%
Acme United Competitors	-275.90%	-162.28%	-22.94%

Risk and Volatility

Acme United has a beta of 0.49, indicating that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acme United’s rivals have a beta of 2.56, indicating that their average share price is 156% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Acme United and its rivals revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Acme United	$211.60 million	$17.79 million	26.88
Acme United Competitors	$1.87 billion	$142.44 million	8.50

Acme United’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Acme United. Acme United is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Acme United beats its rivals on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

Acme United Company Profile

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. It also provides sharpening knives, scissors, chisels, skis, skates, and other edge under the DMT brand. In addition, the company offers first aid kit and safety solutions under the First Aid Only brand; portable eyewash solution and over-the-counter medication, including active ingredients aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen under the PhysiciansCare brand; bodily fluid and spill clean-up solution under the Spill Magic brand; various first aid kit, refill, and safety supplies, including CPR kits, burn kits, and automotive and emergency first aid kits under the First Aid Central; first aid kits for the promotional products industry under Safety Made brand; and alcohol prep pads, alcohol wipes, benzalkonium chloride wipes, various antiseptic wipes, castile soaps, and lens cleaning wipes under the Med-Nap brand. It sells its products directly and through its independent manufacturer representatives to wholesale, contract, and retail stationery distributors; office supply super stores, mass market retailers, industrial and medical distributors, school supply distributors, drug store retailers, sporting goods stores, hardware chains, and wholesale florists, as well as through its websites. The company was formerly known as Acme Shear Company and changed its name to Acme United Corporation in 1971. Acme United Corporation was founded in 1867 and is based in Shelton, Connecticut.