AptarGroup, Inc.
(
ATR
) has hiked its quarterly cash dividend by 14% to 25 cents per
share or $1.00 on an annualized basis. Based on the closing price
of $52.04 as of Jan 17, the proposed dividend affirms a yield of
1.92%.
The hiked dividend will be paid on February 20, 2013, to
shareholders of record as of January 30, 2013. The company
remains a consistent payer of dividends. In fiscal 2011
AptarGroup made a total dividend payout of $53.3 million and
$43.8 million so far in the nine months of fiscal 2012.
Earlier in July 2011, the company had raised its dividend by
22% to the current payout of 22 cents per share. This was the
largest raise AptarGroup has given its shareholders since a 33%
dividend hike back in 2005.
Backed by a strong balance sheet, AptarGroup is in a position
to return additional value to shareholders through an increased
dividend, in addition to an active share repurchase program.
Debt to capitalization ratio as of the end of the third
quarter was at a manageable 22.4%.
AptarGroup reported third-quarter 2012 adjusted earnings of 64
cents per share compared with 74 cents in the year-ago quarter.
Earnings were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Total
revenues decreased 2% year over year to $589.6 million, but
surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $586 million. Core
sales increased 2% while changes in currency exchange rates had
an 8% negative impact on sales in the quarter. Latin American and
Asian markets remained strong while Europe continued to be
weak.
AptarGroup announced a plan to transfer and consolidate
production capacity in twelve facilities and shut down two
facilities in Europe. The concerned facilities serve the beauty,
personal care, food, beverage, and consumer health care markets.
Total costs will be to the tune of €14 million (approximately $18
million), of which approximately €4 million (approximately $5
million using current exchange rates) relates to non-cash
expenses. The plan is estimated to generate annual savings of
approximately €9 million (approximately $12 million) beginning in
late 2013.
The company expects earnings to remain in the range of 53
cents to 58 cents per share in the fourth quarter. This includes
approximately 3 cents per share from the results of Aptar
Stelmi.
AptarGroup has recently completed the acquisition of Stelmi
Group, the manufacturer of elastomer primary packaging components
for injectable drug delivery. With this purchase, AptarGroup
enters the new arena of primary packaging components used in the
injectable drug delivery. This acquisition endows AptarGroup with
the opportunity to expand its product portfolio of pharmaceutical
solutions in the Pharma segment. The integration is on track and
the acquisition is expected to result in an accretion of between
12 cents and 16 cents per share beginning in the fourth
quarter.
Furthermore, the optimization plan in Europe will position the
company well for future growth. However, the ongoing weak
economic conditions prevailing in Europe and foreign currency
translation may affect results in the fourth quarter.
Crsytal Lake, Illinois-based AptarGroup is a leading global
supplier of a broad range of innovative dispensing systems for
the fragrance/cosmetic, personal care, pharmaceutical, household
and food/beverage markets. AptarGroup retains a short-term Zacks
Rank #4 (Sell).
Stocks in the same industry that are expected to perform
strongly are
Graphic Packaging Holding Company
(
GPK
), which holds a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy),
Packaging Corp. of America
(
PKG
) and
UFP Technologies, Inc.
(
UFPT
) which hold Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Packaging Corporation recently
declared a 25% year-over-year hike in its dividend payout to a
quarterly payment of 31.25 cents per share or $1.25 on an
annualized basis.
APTARGROUP INC (ATR): Free Stock Analysis
Report
GRAPHIC PKG HLD (GPK): Free Stock Analysis
Report
PACKAGING CORP (PKG): Free Stock Analysis
Report
UFP TECH INC (UFPT): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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