The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI) to Issue $0.95 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• The Marzetti Company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.95 per share, which will be paid to stockholders of record on September 8th.
• The company has a payout ratio of 53.7%, indicating that the dividend is well-covered by earnings, with expected earnings of $7.31 per share next year.
• Marzetti's stock was up 1.3% on the day, trading at $183.05, with a market capitalization of $5.05 billion.

The Marzetti Company (NASDAQ:MZTI - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 13th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.95 per share on Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th.

Marzetti has a dividend payout ratio of 53.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Marzetti to earn $7.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 52.0%.

Marzetti Trading Down 0.6%

MZTI traded down $1.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $180.29. 92,412 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 114,149. Marzetti has a 1 year low of $156.14 and a 1 year high of $202.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $172.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.61. The firm has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.32 and a beta of 0.47.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MZTI has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Marzetti from $200.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark upgraded shares of Marzetti from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Marzetti from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $203.50.

About Marzetti

Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacturing and marketing of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice channels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail and Foodservice. The company offers frozen garlic bread under the New York BRAND Bakery; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast and dinner rolls under the Sister Schubert's brand; salad dressings under the Marzetti, Simply Dressed, Cardini's, and Girard's brands; vegetable and fruit dips under the Marzetti brand; croutons and salad toppings under the New York BRAND Bakery, Chatham Village, and Marzetti brands; and frozen pasta under the Marzetti Frozen Pasta brand.