Olympic Steel boosts dividend by more than 4 times to lift yield above that of the S&P 500
Olympic Steel Inc.
ZEUS,
said on Friday that it boosted its dividend by more than four-fold, following a year of “record profitability” in 2021. The steel maker’s stock was still inactive in the premarket. The new dividend of 9 cents a share is up from 2 cents a share, and will be payable March 15 to shareholders of record on March 1. Based on the stock’s Thursday closing price of $23.96, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 1.50%, which compares with the implied yield for the S&P 500
SPX,
of 1.44%. “As indicated in our earnings releases for the first three quarters of 2021, this has been an extraordinary year with record profitability for Olympic Steel,” said Chief Executive Richard Marabito. “We are pleased to share that success with our shareholders by declaring a quarterly dividend that has been increased from $0.02 per share to $0.09 per share.” The stock has gained 2.1% over the past three months, while the S&P 500
SPX,
has slipped 6.9%.
