Benzinga | Aug 27, 2021 11:43AM EDT

Cato Rewards Shareholders With Dividend Hike

* Cato Corp (NYSE:CATO) board of directors has approved a 55% increase in the quarterly dividend to $0.17 per share. The dividend will be payable on September 27, 2021, to shareholders of record on September 13, 2021.

* The $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis represents a 55% increase above the current dividend of $0.44 and represents an annualized yield of 4.1% at the closing market price on August 26, 2021.

* In May this year, Cato resumed paying a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share. In April 2020, the company suspended its quarterly dividend due to COVID-19.

* Pre-COVID, Cato's dividend was $0.33 quarterly or $1.32 per share on an annualized basis.

* Cato held $216.9 million in cash and equivalents as of July 31, 2021.

* Price Action: CATO shares are trading higher by 7.74% at $17.95 on the last check Friday.