The Cato Co. (NYSE:CATO) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.17

The Cato Co. (NYSE:CATO – Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 23rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 13th will be given a dividend of 0.17 per share by the specialty retailer on Monday, June 27th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 10th.

Cato has decreased its dividend by an average of 30.1% annually over the last three years.

NYSE CATO traded up $0.27 on Monday, hitting $12.39. 101,689 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 113,361. Cato has a 52-week low of $11.95 and a 52-week high of $19.89. The company has a market capitalization of $267.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $14.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.05.

Cato (NYSE:CATO – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 19th. The specialty retailer reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter. Cato had a net margin of 3.39% and a return on equity of 9.86%. The firm had revenue of $206.72 million for the quarter.

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Cato by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 582,306 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,992,000 after purchasing an additional 220,233 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cato by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,219,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $55,242,000 after purchasing an additional 94,528 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Cato by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,358,515 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $19,916,000 after purchasing an additional 51,177 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Cato by 31.1% in the 2nd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 176,658 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,981,000 after purchasing an additional 41,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cato by 66.4% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 68,475 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 27,332 shares during the last quarter. 72.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Cato in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating for the company. TheStreet raised shares of Cato from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Thursday.

About Cato (Get Rating)

The Cato Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of fashion apparel and accessories primarily in the southeastern United States. It operates through two segments, Retail and Credit. The company's stores and e-commerce websites offer a range of apparel and accessories, including dressy, career, and casual sportswear; and dresses, coats, shoes, lingerie, costume jewelry, and handbags, as well as men's wear, and lines for kids and infants.

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